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Chieko Yano -
Pianist Profile
Chieko Yano is an
intriguing and talented musician who is making a name for
herself throughout the Midwest and beyond. Born in Yokohama,
Japan, Yano began
playing classical piano at the age of three. She developed her
own musical vocabulary through the experience of various other
instruments, including saxophone, voice, guitar, and bass. She
received formal training from jazz pianist, Frank Caruso, and
concert pianist, Michael Yanovitsky.
After working for several years as a vocalist, pianist, and
arranger in Tokyo, Yano moved
to Chicago in 1998. She soon appeared on the famed Chicago
jazz scene as a pianist. She performed at such reputable
venues as Pops for Champagne, Isaac Hayes Center, Hot House,
Fitzgerald's, Smoke Daddy, Velvet Lounge, and M Lounge. She
also began a long-running residency at Cafe Shino's Piano Bar
.
Yano's experience at these venues gave her the opportunity
to perform with a number of respected musicians. She shared
the stage with Winton Marsalis, Harold Jones, and Carl Allen.
After she decided to settle in the United States, she started
to reconsider her roots and origins. This led to a desire to
incorporate Asian-influenced sounds into her brand of jazz. It
was also at this time that Yano began
focusing on her singing and vocal compositions.
Yano's first album, Blue Sonata, includes jazz standards,
originals, and Japanese folk songs. She is fortunate to have
some of the best musicians in Chicago featured on the album.
Some of these include trombone player Tom Garling, sax player
Geof Bradfield, bassist Pat Williams, bassist Matt Young and
drummer Noritaka Tanaka.
The self-produced CD has different approaches to the genre
of jazz: it combines a taste of Asian flavor with vocal
overdubbing. It also features classical sonata forms,
classical impressionism harmony, odd meter changes, and
interesting key changes. It is both Yano's wide vocal range
and strong musical background which allow these different
elements to blend so well. As further proof of her musical
talents, Yano also
plays the classical guitar on her new CD.
Currently, Yano is
performing in Chicago and the surrounding region. She sings in
both Japanese and English. This flexibility is now an
essential element to her sound. Live, Yano
emphasizes improvisation and her piano playing. She considers
herself a pianist who happens to sing, rather than a vocalist
who plays the piano. Her performance has been known to sway
from sensitive and evocative one minute, to feisty, playful,
and ferocious the next.
Chieko
Yano's Credits
Chieko Yano has
performed with:
Taku Akiyama, Carl
Allen, Geof Bradfield, Vincent
Davis, Savoir
Faire, John
Fedchock, Tom
Garling, Phil Gratteau, Harold
Jones, Bob Long, Winton
MarsalisScott
Mason, Rob
Parton, Marlene
Rosenberg, Noritaka Tanaka, Mayo
Tiana, Patrick Williams,
Barry Winograd,
She has performed at:
Jazz Showcase, Pops for
Champagne, Greenmill,
Isaac Hayes Center, Hot House, Fitzgerald's,
Smoke Daddy, M Lounge, Cafe Shino's
Piano Bar, Meson Sabika, Velvet Lounge, Chicago's First Lady,
Wendella Boat, Small
Bar, Salvartore's
Restaurant, Taste of Chicago, Tower Club, the Chicago Club, the
Charleston, Hilton Hotels, Marriott, and the Congress
Hotel |
