“The majority of Rainbow Baby comes off as a blue exploration of Pineda’s psyche; the music’s no less gorgeous or entrancing. The emotional backing of California pianist Cathlene Pineda’s Rainbow Baby is startling…the courage to write music about such a personal experience should be recognized.”
RAINBOW BABY
Cathlene Pineda’s latest album, Rainbow Baby, is music that reflects on four years of motherhood, pregnancy, loss, and, ultimately and most powerfully, love. The music is the product of a person reborn after the physical and emotional trials that encompass motherhood: the ever-changing, moment-by-moment journey of a profound, messy, humorous, and beautiful life.
Part of the album deals with the after effects of tragedy. A “rainbow baby” is a baby born shortly after the loss of a previous baby due to miscarriage, stillbirth or death in infancy. The story of the title is simple: a rainbow follows a storm. Despite the heaviness of loss, Pineda’s album is, at it’s core, an ode to the promise of new life.
“If Pineda's distinctive compositional acumen isn't clear, it will be with the arrival of music concerning motherhood's weight and responsibilities, deftly and beautifully articulated, because Cathlene Pineda has lived it.”
Cathlene Pineda piano and compositions
Kris Tiner trumpet
Tina Raymond drums
David Tranchina bass
John Baffa recording, mixing
Stephen Marsh mastering
Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon album artwork
“Fascinating and stylistically multi-faceted reflections on the joys, sorrows and challenges of her experiences with motherhood, pregnancy, brutal loss and redemptive love… you don’t really have to know Pineda’s intense backstories – and how she went from loss to love - to appreciate the unique ensemble energy she creates with her gifted ensemble.”