Elisa Caleb
She's a funky Jazz queen who has performed across the globe, visiting the likes of Paris, Moscow, Belgium, Barbados and numerous venues across London. Her new album, 'Carry Me Home' will tantalise your ears with her silky smooth jazz vocals.
Here, FemaleFirst spoke to Elisa all about her latest plans and how she's loving the busy life of a Jazz star.
Hello there, what are you up to?
Spending time with my daughter Liya!
So, you’re getting ready to release your new single The Wind - can you tell us a bit about it?
Sure, it was written by my husband Jo Caleb. It's a beautiful song which I completely love. He wrote it a while ago but I only found out a few months ago that it's about me, and so it has taken on a whole new meaning for me now.
The new single from that, comes out next month, why are you releasing that track now?
We decided to do a Radio Edit of The Wind as it is the most popular song on the album. The album version is over 5 minutes long, so we remade it to a more commercial song length which we're releasing now.
There is a lot of competition in the business today, do you think you have what it takes to give the big names a run for their money?
Absolutely! I was performing at the National Theatre just the other day and the critic that was supposed to review the play at the theatre ended up writing more about me! Any time I question my own ability, I only have to do a gig and people come up to me thanking me for making them cry, or even asking for my autograph! I feel really privaleged to affect people in that way. And for me, that's what music is all about; telling stories and touching hearts.
So, if you could recommend just one song of yours for us to download so that we want to hear all of your music, what would it be?
The Wind
If I was contemplating coming to your show or sitting at home and watching Big Brother, how would you get me out of the house?
You can watch Big Brother online or on catch up anytime. But a live performance is a one time only show!! Miss it and you'll miss out!
We’ve got to admit you’re a little bit cool, so what advice would you give to someone just starting out, knowing what you know now?
Practice and perform A LOT, even if that means going to every jam session or acoustic night you can to perform. The most important thing is to listen to yourself, record yourself and BE CRITICAL. Ask others to be critical (don't listen to 'Yes men') and work on the things you find the hardest. You have to be brave to face your faults, but when you do, it'll help you improve leaps and bounds. The best singers in the world didn't start off with perfect voices and continue to get vocal coaching even after they've made it. No matter where you're at, you'll always be a student!
So, ELISA CALEB was an acronym what would each letter stand for?
Oh that's a hard one, let me think... Enter love in songs and choral airs, leaving emptiness behind.
If you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Just one???!! I listen to different styles of music depending on my mood so that's a hard one. But I'd probably say Everybody digs Bill Evans by Bill Evans 'cause I could listen to that anytime over and over again.
Okay, now we want to ask you some random questions:
What were you doing last night at 11?
Updating my website.
What are you going to do after this interview?
Start cooking lunch - I LOVE to cook and especially bake. I made chequerboard cookies yesterday and blueberry muffins for breakfast...mmm..mmm!
When was the last time you did something incredibly stupid?
At the gig I mentioned before at The National Theatre - I texted my bass player to let him know that Jo and I were running late for the soundcheck when he texted back saying that I hadn't booked him for the gig and he was in Ireland!! I'd booked him for a series of other gigs and thought I'd booked him for that one too! So Jo and I did the gig without bass - thankfully it still went down a storm but I had to apologise to the promoter for messing up...
What’s the last film you saw?
Inkheart
What’s the last thing you bought?
A black elastic belt with a gold buckle from Accessorize.