noge

Issue #44

Last Update March 2, 2006

Reviews Yoko Meets John by David Katz From the opening tinkling treble of Hothouse Blues to the gutsy Snow Country that ends the CD,Yoko Meets John is a splendid example of the art of the blues. Unlike the untalented Yoko Ono, Yoko Noge, the Yoko of the title, is a skillful and artistic pianist and a no-holds-barred, gravel-voiced blues vocalist. With her group, The Jazz Me Blues Band, she has created an album of pain and celebration that is what the blues is all about.

The album is a well paced mixture of blues styles, from quiet, low-down blues numbers to raucous R&B. Three of the numbers were composed by Yoko herself. The Jazz Me Blues Band, consisting of Yoko on piano and vocals, John Watson (the John of the title) on trombone and vocals, Clark Dean (one of the best soprano sax bluesmen around), Sonny Seals on tenor sax, Tatsui Aoki on bass and Phil Thomas on drums, makes it all sound so easy and so right. Yoko is a slim, attractive Japanese woman who dons a mantle of power when she sits down at the keyboard. Her lightly accented contralto voice can be sweet or growly as the number demands, and has the power and range to really sell a song.

The opening number, Hothouse Blues, composed by Yoko, is a traditional slow blues and may be the best number on the CD. She has two other compositions, Sister Persistent and Snow Country, both of which combine Japanese sensibility with the blues form. The combination works surprisingly well, as it does on another Japanese number, Black Boat Song. Yoko shares the singing with John Watson on Cherry, Don't You Feel My Leg, and I Want a Little Girl. John does solo vocal in Rocks in My Bed. A veteran of Count Basie's band, he makes his trombone talk and sing, and his solo and duet vocals provide a native blues accent that deepens and complements Yoko's Japanese tinge.

Yoko and the Jazz Me Blues Band have a regular gig on Monday nights at the Hothouse in Chicago (31 E. Balbo, www.hothouse.net) and also tour throughout the year, including a Shanghai tour this May. In March they appeared at Sushi Blues, a unique sushi restaurant/blues club in Hollywood, Florida (www.sushiblues.com). Three other Yoko Noge CDs are available and can be bought on Amazon, through the Jazz Me Blues website, and at all Jazz Me Blues performances. A couple of tracks are available as MP3 downloads on Amazon, so you can sample the fine work this group does.

The blues is one of America's best creations. Like almost everything else American, multiple ethnic influences strengthen and broaden the product. Yoko Noge and the Jazz Me Blues Band prove this yet again.