Cecilia Noël is a
Peruvian-born
Latin music
Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...
artist,
[Enrique Lopetegui,]
Cecilia Noel and Wild Clams: Pearl About to Be Discovered
, ''Los Angeles Times'', February 09, 1994.[Carlos Von Son,]
L.A. fusion group to play first SD show
, ''North County Times'' (June 23, 2000), p. 89.[Allmusic biography of Cecilia Noël](_blank)
whose work, with her band, The Wild Clams, combines
salsa,
soul,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
funk, and
Afro-Cuban traditions.
[Alicia Doyle,]
Salsa festival returns to Oxnard
, ''Ventura County Star'' (July 29, 2016), TimeOut 10-11. At one time, she was dubbed ''the Latin Tina Turner''.
[Chris Johnston,]
, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', January 19, 2013. Noël is married to
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band that was formed in Melbourne, 1979. They were best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", " Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and ...
singer
Colin Hay, with whom she has frequently recorded and toured.
Biography
Early life, education, and career
Born in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, Noël "first began singing at age 11 in a band named El Polen formed by her cousins".
She then studied music in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, and later in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
[Martha P. Nochimson, ''A Companion to Wong Kar-wai'' (2016)]
p. 574
before returning to Lima at age 14. There, "legendary jazz performer
Stan Getz saw her perform, and a year later he invited her to New York to live with his family".
She moved to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in the late 1980s, settling in Los Angeles in 1989,
and debuted in the early 1990s with her band, The Wild Clams.
In 1993, Noël sang with
Carole King
Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
on a bonus tracks on 1993 Japanese edition of King's album, ''
Colour of Your Dreams
''Colour of Your Dreams'' is the 15th studio album by singer-songwriter Carole King, released in March 1993. The album includes "Now and Forever (Carole King song), Now and Forever", a Grammy Award, Grammy-nominated song which was featured in the ...
'', on the song "Te Daria La Vida (Amor)"
panish Version of "Lay Down My Life" She was reviewed in the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' in 1994 as "arguably the most potent Latin sound to emerge from Los Angeles in years".
She played at the 16th annual
Playboy Jazz Festival in June 1994, and appeared on the
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
-produced late night talk show, ''
Vibe'', in August 1998.
Albums and songs
Noël released four studio albums, ''Delivery'' in 1998, ''Bongoland'' in 2003, ''A Gozar!'' in 2009,
and ''Havana Rocks'' in 2014,
[Chart Hits Cuban Style]
, ''World Music Central'', October 14, 2014. along with a live album, ''Live in Hollywood'', released in 2007.
In a 2001 project, Hong Kong-based director
Wong Kar-wai used Noël's cover of the song "Unicornio", from the
album of the same name by Cuban musician
Silvio Rodríguez.
One review speculated that Wong "deliberately chooses this version because of Cecilia Noël's personal history", noting that "her migratory routes resonate with Wong's 'transregional imagination'".
Noël continued adding performers to the Wild Clams, so that by 2002 there were "as many as 18 performers onstage".
In 2003, Noël performed on the recording of a reimagined version of "Down Under" for husband
Colin Hay's album ''
Man @ Work'', with the remake being described as "more carnivale than outback". In 2007, Noël sang on several tracks on the
Lazlo Bane album, ''
Guilty Pleasures'', and was a special guest (along with Hay) on the
Ringo Starr album, ''
Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage''. She also appeared on a track for the 2008 soundtrack album, ''
The Rocker: Music from the Motion Picture''. In 2013, Noël's original song "
Del Cielo" from the film ''
Casa de mi padre'' was named on the 2013 Academy Awards Best Original Song short list, making it eligible for Oscar consideration in that category.
''Havana Rocks'', produced in 2014 during the
Cuban thaw, was recorded in
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>, <div class=)
.
In May 2015, Noël won the Cubadisco International Award, the
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
n equivalent to the
Grammy Awards, as a nominee in the "Premios Internacionales" category. In July 2016, Noël and The Wild Clams kicked off the 23rd annual Oxnard Salsa Festival in
Oxnard, California.
In 2022, Noël performed the song "Lagrimas Sin Fin" for the soundtrack of the film ''
The Lost City'', for which the song was written by
Cheche Alara,
El David Aguilar, and
Pinar Toprak. The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that
Spotify's ''The Envelope'' listed the song as one of "the most dynamic, haunting and catchy original songs from this year's films".
Personal life
Noël is married to singer
Colin Hay of the band
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band that was formed in Melbourne, 1979. They were best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", " Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and ...
,
and often tours with her husband,
[Carolyn Lamberson,]
Man (Still) At Work
''The Spokesman-Review'' (May 10, 2019), p. E2. providing background vocals for his shows. Noël has also helped to produce Hay's solo albums. For example, Hay said of his solo album, ''
Are You Lookin' at Me?'' that:
Hay has noted that he has also "poached a couple members from her band" for his tours.
Hay and Noël live in
Topanga Canyon, near
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
References
External links
*
Biografia - Cecilia Noël Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Cecilia
Peruvian jazz musicians
Musicians from Lima
Date of birth unknown
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)