It doesn’t get much more romantic than this. The lovely voice of Carmen Cuesta, singing ballads in Spanish with her husband, Chuck Loeb, playing guitar. Those are the elements of Toda Una Vida (Tweety Records, 2014).

Loeb also plays keyboards. The other musicians are Jose San Martin, drums and shaker; Antonio “Tono” Miguel, acoustic bass; Moises P. Sanchez, piano and electric piano; Yuvisney Aguilar, percussion; Antonio Serrano, harmonica on “Contiga Aprendi”; Kike Perdomo, flute on “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas”; and Oli Rockberger, piano on “Todo Una Vida.”

The set begins with “Voy a Apagar La Luz” or “I’ll turn off the light.” Cuesta sings softly with the musicians playing elegantly behind her. Loeb adds an acoustic guitar solo. Sanchez opens “Eu Sei Que Voe Te Amar” in true, mood-setting fashion, setting up for Cuesta’s voice. The other musicians are subtle underneath as this easily could have been a piano/vocal duet. Cuesta and Sanchez complement each other well.

“Besame Mucho,” written in 1940 by Consuelo Velazquez, is the most sung and recorded Mexican song in the world. If you know the translation, it’s easy to see why. Besame Mucho is kiss me a lot. While often played at a faster pace, Cuesta takes the slow approach. One can almost imagine Loeb’s guitar responding to the singer’s request.

Adding to the romantic atmosphere of this project is the album art. Photographs are by Loeb and Cuesta. The front cover, with filtered lighting and colors, shows a woman – possibly Cuesta – walking down a driveway, flanked by a dog, with an ivy-covered brick gateway in the foreground and trees on either side of the road. An interior photo shows the same view, in full color, minus the woman and the animal. And the gatefold images are close-ups of flowers. A note accompanying that image reads: “Because there is nothing that unites us more than a song that stays in our ear, or music that evokes memories … sometimes with sadness and sometimes with joy, the best moments of our lives.”

Loeb arranged all the songs Todo Una Vida. Apart from Loeb and Sanchez, there isn’t much to listen for in the way of instrumental solos. It’s all about the album’s overall concept of life and love, the arrangements of the music and Cuesta’s soothing, charming voice.