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 Yoko : La Japonesa Salsera - Yoko (El Chance Music)
Not since Orquesta De La Luz blazed out of Tokyo has a Japanese artist made such a fuss in the salsa world. Singer Yoko began working with local bands in Osaka then moved up to national level working with the former De La Luz musicians in Las Estrellas. In 1997, she packed her bags and decided to move to the mecca of salsa, Nueva York! She was soon singing with local bands and mixing with musicians such as Chino Nunez, Frankie Vasquez, Willie Ruiz, Ray Sepulveda, Herman Olivera etc and in 2006 she started working with the Chino Nunez Band as one of the regular lead singers.
At the end of 2008, she finally released her first solo CD "Yoko : La Japonesa Salsera" and what a cracker it is! With Chino, Willie Ruiz and trumpeter Richie Viruet on arranging duties, the songs crack along with that slick New York salsa dura style we know and love. Yoko has a powerful voice and handles the inspiraciones (the improvised vocal sections) as if she came from Ponce, Puerto Rico, not Osaka, Japan.
For DJs and hardcore salsa dancers, you have to check "Esto Ritmo Original" (track 1) and the uptempo and kicking "Vengo Inspirada" (track 4), which really flies! I also like the mid-tempo "Empezo La Fiesta" (track 7).
A really good debut CD which again proves there's something in the water right now in New York City. Add it to the list of recent killer CDs from the Big Apple - La Excelencia, Jesus Pagan and Conjunto Imagen - and give respect to the new sonera on the block!
Lubi Jovanovic
(Fania Records CD compiler)
http://www.myspace.com/djlubi
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