Album Notes

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. 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 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 Garling, sax player Goef Bradfield, bassist Patt Willians, 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.