Dee Carstensen (born February 18, 1956[3][2]) is a New York City-based contemporary folk and new age singer/songwriter who is best known for her harp playing.[4][5]
Personal life
Carstensen was born on February 18, 1956 in Maryland and later moved with her parents and four siblings to Rochester.[3][2] She started her musical interest by playing piano when she was 5 years old, and later took up stringed instruments when she was 8.[6] Part of her studies in the stringed instrument family included the harp, which was done with a harpist from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.[2] Carstensen described her relationship with stringed instruments as "love-hate", while she said her upbringing was "classical training" she was also listening to Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, James Taylor, and Jimi Hendrix.[6] Carstensen is married to vibist Mike Mainieri, who she says is the "single most important influence on her musical career."[5][7] She cites this by mentioning 2 separate instances where she would "throw out ideas" and Mainieri offered his constructive criticism for her.[5]
Career
Carstensen's debut came in 1993 with her album Beloved One, which was largely produced by Bob Marlette and included guitar work by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.[2][6] Her second album called Regarding the Soul came out in 1995, and was produced by Neil Dorfsman.[2] In this album Dee integrated her singing, songwriting and harp-playing after "fooling around" with the instrument for a bit.[5][6]Regarding the Soul was initially released under a subsidiary imprint called "Exit Nine Records" by Mainieri, and was later re-released in 1998 under Blue Thumb.[2][8] Dee's third album called The Map also came out during this year which was released under a joint-venture agreement between GRP and Mainieri's NYC Records.[9] However, the Gavin Reports release schedule for the Summer of 1998 mentions Blue Thumb instead.[10]
Dee also recorded a children's album, Can You Hear Lullaby (2001), which featured guest vocals Everett Bradley, Curtis King and Julie Dansky and instrumental work by her husband.[citation needed] Dee went back into the studio and recorded a solo album, Patch of Blue, which was released in 2005.[7] Unlike previous work, all eight songs were originals, except Fly Away whose music was co-written with her husband, who played vibraphone on the album.[citation needed]Patch of Blue did not include any guitar work.[citation needed] Instead, it featured Dee's harp and vocals, with backing from the Tosca String Quartet and several woodwind players.[citation needed] Carstensen has been described as using her harp "like a guitar" in her folk/pop compositions.[11]
