Chieko's Blue Sonata
Bruce Von Stiers
Interesting, soothing vocals come from Blue Sonata. This is the debut album by a Chicago area jazz vocalist. But this is no ordinary vocalist. Her name is Chieko Yano.
Born and raised in Japan , Chieko was a mainstay on the Tokyo jazz scene for several years, as an arranger, vocalist and a pianist. She came to the U.S. and moved to Chicago in 1998. Once there, Chieko began playing a lot of venues on the Chicago jazz scene, especially places like Hot House, Velvet Lounge and Smoke Daddy. Chieko also began a long standing gig at the Café Shino Piano Bar.
Having settled in the U.S. , Chieko began to write music that incorporated both her Asian roots and those of her new country. This music is a unique mix of cultural styles that transcends into Chieko's arrangements of already established songs that she performs. This distinctive styling and song arrangement stands out on this debut album, Blue Sonata.
Blue Sonata was arranged and produced by Chieko. The album was mostly recorded at the Swing Odyssey Studio, with a few tracks recorded at Chieko's home studio. It has a dozen tracks and lasts fifty-three and a half minutes. Chieko wrote five of the songs on the album.
The performers on the album are Geof Bradfield, Matt Young, Tom Garling, Noritaka Tanaka and Chieko. Bradfield plays sax and Tanaka the drums. Young plays bass on four of the songs, while Patrick Williams plays bass on four others and Scott Mason does bass on one other. Garling, who is also Chieko's husband, plays trombone on the album. As for Chieko, she does the vocals, plays guitars and both keys and piano.
Chieko starts us out with the title track, Blue Sonata. A subtle, yet sultry song, Chieko shows she can really sing a jazz torch song. She also wrote this song, which features a pretty decent piano solo by her.
Foie Gras At The Motel 6 is an interesting song. Is the song truly about getting a taste of rich, buttery duck or goose liver? Or is this about being sated by something like lust at a low rent motel? Hot and saucy, you could get a chill listening to the song. And there is some killer sax in the song too.
Should I Wait For is sang in both Japanese and English. This is a Jobim samba styled song that will have you moving about quickly. Speaking of Jobim, Chieko is great on his wonderful samba tune Once I Loved.
Cheiko does a really good job of covering Someday My Prince Will Come. She does especially well with a piano intro.
Strong bass serves as the intro for Koujou No Tsuki. This is a mostly instrumental piece, with some vocals sung in Japanese.
As she did with the previous cover, Chieko performs a wonderful rendition of the Van Heusen tune, Like Someone In Love.
Digging back into the true classics, Chieko sings a nice rendition of Duke Ellington's Solitude. And she follows that up with a decent cover of You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. Not to be excluded, Chieko also does a wonderful job with The Days of Wine and Roses.
The other two songs on the album are Chieko originals, Embrace and The Moment You Touch Me. Embrace is a terrific piano piece with light brushes providing a nice background. The Moment You Touch Me has aching, longing vocals.
The U.S. and Chicago have gotten a wonderful gift in Chieko Yano. Her expert piano playing, as well as her great vocals and wonderful songwriting, make Chieko a very welcome addition to the jazz world.
Blue Sonata can be purchased from CD Baby, a couple of places in Chicago and from Chieko herself. To find out the latest about the album and Chieko herself, visit www.chiekoyano.com .
© 2007 Bruce E Von Stiers