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In the slightly more than five years since she emerged from being a singer of other people’s songs, Eliana Cuevas has become a respected artist with a growing national and international presence and reputation. Singing in Spanish, Portuguese and English, Eliana has stepped out from being merely a great singer to make her mark as both bandleader and songwriter. A student of music in Venezuela, Eliana came to Canada to study history at the University of Toronto. She continued her musical studies here and sang with a variety of pop, Latin-jazz, reggae, salsa, Brazilian and flamenco ensembles. Eliana began to be invited to perform at top Latin and jazz venues in Toronto, including the Lula Lounge, the Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar and the famous Top O' The Senator. In March of 2003 she was featured as one of the “Global Divas” in a concert of the same name, backed by Jane Bunnett and her band. That summer she went west for the first time to the Victoria Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Yukon Storytelling Festival and Comox Valley Music Festival. She returned home to receive the Latin American Achievement Award for Vocal Artist of the Year. In 2004 she released Ventura, a collection of original songs about love, life and quirky speculations, such as “what if the day had 30 hours?” The release of the CD coincided with festival and concert dates in Nova Scotia and BC. She returned home to the news that she had won the Ontario Conference of Folk Festivals “From The Heart” songwriting award for Rompe Mi Alma/Break My Soul in the World Music Category. In September there was a CD launch for Ventura at Toronto’s prestigious Glenn Gould Studio as part of the Small World Music Festival. In the summer of 2005 Eliana performed at festivals in BC from Vancouver’s North Shore Jazz to the Prince George Folk Festival, the Islands Folk Festival and the Kispiox Music Festival in the far north of the province. In the summer of 2006 she made her first prairie appearance at the Ness Creek Festival in Saskatchewan and her Montreal debut at the Festival de Rhythmes du Monde. As the result of a showcase at Pacific Contact, Eliana received invitations to perform at major theatres in BC and the Yukon in Oct. of 2006. The fall of 2006 also saw Eliana’s international debut. She performed at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, and in Bremen and Berlin. In November she gave her first performance in her native Venezuela at the Hatillo Jazz Festival outside Caracas. In March of 2007 Eliana toured New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for the first time. In April she began work on her next CD of mainly original songs, songs that include a powerful composition confronting homelessness (20 Degrees Below Zero) and others celebrating the triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity. In the fall Eliana returned home from a tour in Northwestern Ontario to be named ‘best world music artist’ at the Toronto Independent Music Awards. In December of 2007 she released her new CD, Vidas/Lives, and toured with it in the summer and fall of 2008, to BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Yukon, including some of the country’s largest and most prestigious festivals including Calgary Folk Music and Salmon Arm Roots and Blues as well as the Rawlinson Centre in Prince Albert and Festival Place in Edmonton. A look at her performing history shows an artist who has an uncommon ability to perform both as the interpreter of her own distinct compositions as well as a collaborator with other artists in diverse forms of Latin based music from the Jorge Miguel Flamenco Ensemble to Samba Squad. The Eliana Cuevas Quintet has emerged as a solid ensemble with a long history together. Each of its members is a bandleader in their own right; each is a consummate ensemble player and virtuoso soloist. What was once a promise is now a realization as Eliana’s career continues to move forward as both a creator of sublime music and words and as a performer with a growing national and international career.
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Eliana Cuevas- A New Voice on Canada’s World and Jazz Music Scene Someday London's first Fiesta del Sol will
be remembered for bringing Toronto Latin jazz singer Eliana Cuevas'
group to London. "She just might be the next Norah Jones" |
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| Winner - Vocal Artist
of the Year- Latin American Achievement Awards, 2003 Winner - World Music Category- From The Heart Songwriting Competition, 2004 |
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