Artist Profile
Yuko ShigenoProfile
Yuko Shigeno, vocalist
Yuko Shigeno was born in Osaka, Japan.
She started learning classical piano at the age of four.
Later on, she studied jazz vocal and jazz piano during high school.
During her Japanese university years, she also studied cross
cultural studies at UCLA in California, U.S.A.
After graduation, she went abroad many times to study jazz and
learn voicetraining.
Although she started singing jazz in 2002, her musical career had
begun much earlier.
She debuted as a rock singer in 1990 so her voice is emotional,
warm and exciting.
In 2006, Yuko released her soul music CD, 'Black Or White' in
both the USA and Japan.
She composed most of the music for this CD.
Her next album came in October 2008. 'Old Devil Moon' is a
straight ahead jazz album.
It was recorded with four horns: a trumpet, an alto saxophone, a
tenor saxophone and a trombone.
The following album was recorded in New York City, in
September 2011, with the Don Friedman quartet, one of the
greatest jazz pianists.
This album is so unique.
Usually, most jazz vocalists sing musical and movie songs
with their jazz style.
But Yuko challenged herself to sing only 'Jazz compositions'.
Jazz compositions are really difficult to sing because they are
composed for musical instruments.
The melody is often complicated and there are many passages
reminiscent of tongue twisters.
Her trial was successful!
The media lauded her work and the sales have been great.
In March 2014, Yuko released her latest album, 'Circle Waltz'.
Once again, it was recorded in New York City with the
Don Friedman quartet.
The album 'Circle Waltz' is named after Don's famous song.
Yuko wrote the lyrics for this tune.
Her pitch extends across five octaves and she can sing with
several different voices.
She can play the piano, compose beautiful songs and has a
deep understanding of musical theories.
All in all, the most important thing is that her passion for jazz
is unequalled among other jazz singers.
Genre: Jazz PopsActive Area: Jazz Pops
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