Dee Carstensen
“Her polished compositions and delivery put her in league with Joni Mitchell, Shawn Colvin, and Ricki Lee Jones…yet are immediately recognizable as hers alone.”
– BAY AREA EXPRESS
Dee Carstensen is an award winning Singer/Songwriter and Harpist, honed at the prestigious Eastman School of Music in her hometown of Rochester, NY, and countless honored stages- from Passim to Lilith Fair to the Newport Folk Festival to Wolftrap. She has shared stages with Paula Cole, Sinead O’Connor, Jonatha Brooke, Marc Cohn, David Wilcox, Art Garfunkel and Dar Williams.
Dee’s work has appeared in the following feature films:
“Beautiful” starring Minnie Driver
Director: Sally Field
“The Goodbye Girl” starring Patricia Heaton, Jeff Daniels
Director: Richard Benjamin
“Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio” starring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson
Director: Jane Anderson
“First Born” starring Elizabeth Shue
Director: Issac Webb
CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
“Her harp strings reverberate delicately across intimate narrratives about both physical and intellectural jouneys. Carstensen, who also plays piano on “The Map”, holds her impeccable soprano at bay and then suddenly sends it soaring!”
– TIME OUT MAGAZINE
“The surprise hit Friday night was New York City’s Dee Carstensen, a singer/songwriter who plays piano and harp. Carstensen’s exquisite voice and incisive lyrics brought tears to my eyes. And when she played the harp, I felt like my heartstrings were being plucked.”
– Lorne Mallin, THE VANCOUVER PROVINCE
“Dee’s music thrills me, makes me wistful, moves me in unfathomable, rich ways. Her voice and her lyrics are riveting, undeniable. I want to be in Dee’s band!”
– JONATHA BROOKE
“This is one hell of a recording with musical and vocal performances that are superb, with lyrics that mean something and lay perfectly within the track. I hear traces of Nora Jones, Jonatha Brooke, Shawn Colvin, and Andreas Vollenweider (harp), which ain’t shabby company to be in. But, to me, Dee takes it up a notch.” – HIPPOPRESS
PATCH OF BLUE
Dee’s chosen instrument–an 85-pound, 47-stringed electric harp–is rarely seen in a contemporary pop setting or heard outside of stuffy chamber music halls or New Age environs. Dee uses it in a guitar-like way–to stunning effect. “I consider myself a singer/songwriter foremost,” Dee admits, “though the harp is such an integral part of me that I guess I should say singer/songwriter/harpist. I often write at the piano,” Dee explains, “and then go over to the harp to see how it sounds. The harp is like an upright piano without the black keys and I work the pedals with my feet. The challenge, because I was classically trained with all those glissandos and arpeggios, is to give the harp a rhythmic quality. It’s a never-ending lesson, and I keep stretching it.” These days she describes her harp as “a sexy instrument. There are seven pedals, very close together, and it’s very easy to get them mixed up. I feel a lot safer, especially in live performance, in my bare feet. Plus, I feel more comfortable, as if I was playing in my living room,” she admits.
Produced by Mike Mainieri, Stephen Barber (David Byrne, Gilberto Gil), and Dee Carstensen
Dee Carstensen: Harp, Vocals
Mike Mainieri: Vibraphone, Marimba, Piano, Arranger
Ed Howard: Acoustic Bass
Manolo Badrena: Percussion
Stephen Barber: String and Wind Arrangements
Leigh Mahoney: Violin
Ames Asbell: Viola
Sarah Nelson: Cello
Ian Davidson: Oboe, English Horn
John Mills: Bass Clarinet, Clarinet, Flute
Rebecca Henderson: Oboe
CAN YOU HEAR A LULLABY
This album, “winner of the 2001 Parent’s Gold Choice Award,” is a beautifully crafted CD of original music for both children and adults. The disc features guest vocalists Everett Bradley, Curtis King and Julie Dansky along with instrumental performances by jazz vibraphonist Mike Mainieri.
Produced by David Wolfert, Julie Dansky, and Dee Carstensen
Dee Carstensen: Harp, Piano, Vocals
David Wolfert: Guitar, Synthesizer, Programming, Mandolin, Vocals, Bass, String Arrangements
Bob Magnuson: Woodwinds
Curtis King: Vocals
Julie Dansky: Vocals
Mike Mainieri: Vibraphone
Everett Bradley: Vocals
Ray Loewy: Piano
Charlie Giordano: Accordion
Netousha Harris: Vocals
Lisbeth Zelle: Vocals
Alexander Guy Bown: Vocals
Dawn Buckholz: Cello
Ralph Farris: Violin
Gordon Grody: Vocals
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
This album delivers the intimacy of ten of your favorite songs from Dee’s live performances. This recording beautifully captures the blend of Dee’s vocals with the power of her harp; fans of the harp will be thrilled to hear the forefront placement of the harp in the mix. The ten songs are taken from shows that were recorded between 1996 and 1999 and four songs on this disc replace previously recorded versions on an earlier edition of “Home Away from Home,” which up to now, had not been available commercially. Four of the original tracks from that recording remain the same, and two new tracks have been added.
Produced by Mike Mainieri, Dee Carstensen
Dee Carstensen: Harp, Vocals
Vicky Genfan: Guitar, Vocals
John Mettam: Percussion, Vocals
Philip Hamilton: Percussion, Vocals
Dawn Buckholz: Cello
Everett Bradley: Vocals
Tanya Leach: Guitar, Vocals
Mike Mainieri: Vibraphone, Piano
Angelo Barbero: Electric Bass
THE MAP
On THE MAP, Dee’s deeply passionate songs soar with an upbeat urgency and lyrics of universal resonance. Dee’s catchy entreaty “Be My Man” was penned for her husband, Mike Mainieri (acclaimed vibist and composer), whom she calls “my biggest musical influence. When I met him, I started blossoming. I’d never had someone to critique me before, who respected me, especially a musician/composer of his caliber. No one had ever played that role for me before. This tune,” she explains, “is different from your average love song. It’s related to the different roles we play for each other–parent, child, etc.–and, because we’re in the same business, we wear a lot of different hats. I like the idea of exploring all of that.”
Produced by Ben Wisch (Marc Cohn, Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin)
REGARDING THE SOUL
This album, Dee’s second Exit Nine release, produced by Neil Dorfsman (Sting, Dire Straits), successfully captured the energy and clarity of her live performances and brought her harp more prominently to the forefront. Re-released in 1998 on the Exit Nine/Blue Thumb Records label and supported by extensive North American touring, REGARDING THE SOUL broadened Dee’s already strong fan base.
Produced by Neil Dorfsman (Sting, Dire Straits)
BELOVED ONE
Dee Carstensen’s debut recording, BELOVED ONE (Exit Nine), features the distinctive guitarwork of Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler. Well-received by both music fans and critics, it attracted indie film producers who hired Dee for soundtrack work, most notably for the sci-fi tv show, “VR-5.”
Produced by Bob Marlette and Mike Mainieri (Carly Simon)