*The scene is set: a smoky jazz club in New York City or a Blues joint bursting at the seams in the Mississippi Delta; the quartet is playing a slightly familiar arrangement of “Feeling Good” and the singer, the singer has given a new birth to the song, with a soaring optimism that resonates with you.
There’s soul emanating from her gut; the kind of passion that traveled with the Great Migration to Chicago or was recorded in Soulsville, U.S.A. or Muscle Shoals. Yet, when you finally break free from the hold the music has over you and realize that you’re listening to the first offering from Nao Yoshioka’s US debut The Light, it’s obvious those places have traveled much further than you imagined.
Yoshioka, the Osaka, Japan native, has adapted the soulful renderings of Etta James and Aretha Franklin, the jazz and blues of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone and translated them in a reading her Japanese experiences deliver well-enough to make listeners take a second and third listen to ensure she’s not from the American South. Deeper into the album, she covers the standards “A Change is Gonna Come”, “At Last”, “His Eye is on the Sparrow” and duets with the masterful Brian Owens on “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough” and delivers each with passion and understanding.
However, it is on her original material where The Light shines brightest; the debut single “Make the Change” finds her optimistic, introspective and contemplative in a delivery that inspires and a production that accents her vocal strengths. There ae messages of empowerment (“I’m Not Perfect”), love songs dressed up as rock (“Spend My Life” and “Certifiable”) and the title track that transports you back to that jazz club, her fronting a quartet and asserting her right to sing for you. “The Light” is her most dazzling performance; she pours her emotions out all over the track and challenges herself to match those emotions with her vocals.
Nao Yoshioka’s American debut is a triumph, yet, leaves room for growth. Her next offering should offer further depth into she is, with more original material, allowing listeners to engage with not only her origins, but join her in her current journey.
The Light is available for purchase on iTunes, via Sweet Soul Records and Nia Distribution. To stay current with Nao Yoshioka, visit her website or Facebook page.
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