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TAEKO

Japanese native, TAEKO moved to New York City from Shiga, Japan in the late 90’s and quickly garnered the nickname “Songbird” from the NYC Jazz elite. With a stunning four octave range, she sings with “deep soulfulness reminiscent of Anita Baker with sophisticated scatting a la Ella” as Jazz critics describe.

With a never ending stream of musical ideas and a fluid delivery that shows years of dedication in studying her craft, little is left to doubt how TAEKO has built a dedicated fan base in both the U.S. and overseas. Growing up in Japan, she was inspired early on by the traditional Japanese music her father and grandfather sang, and has been singing as long as she can remember. TAEKO 's interest in American music was piqued while still a young child. In her formative musical years she counts traditional Jazz, modern American music, and Eastern music among her influences in shaping her contemporary vocal style to this day.

“In the early stages of my jazz studies I immersed myself in not only the great vocalists but instrumentalist as well.” said TAEKO. “The one thing that I caught early on was that each had their own individual style. While they could and sometimes, did mimic others in paying tribute through a solo or performance – for all of those masters you could always tell who they were. That’s what I’ve focused on for all of these years, developing my voice, and finding my own place in the musical landscape.”

TAEKO has perfected her craft over the last few years as she has graced the stages of some of the most heralded Jazz clubs on the East Coast, including, Birdland, the Smalls Jazz Club, The Kitano, the Zinc Bar, the Minton’s Playhouse, and the Blue Note. Additionally, she has been featured at such prominent U.S. festivals as the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Women in Jazz Festival in New York City, the United Philadelphia Jazz Festival, the North East Florida Jazz Festival, and Newburgh Jazz Series, in addition to her performances at numerous Jazz festivals in Japan. TAEKO was also a finalist in the 2008 NYC JazzMobile Jazz Vocal Competition. TAEKO has sung the American National Anthem at the annual Japan Run in the Central Park in New York City since 2011.

In 2007, TAEKO released her debut album "One Love" (Flat Nine Records) which caught high attention from Jazz critics and listeners in the US and Japan.

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11
Album Review

Taeko: Contemplation

Read "Contemplation" reviewed by Edward Blanco


It is well known that American jazz is very popular in Japan, which explains why so many Japanese musicians move to the United States to develop their jazz pedigree further. New York is a favorite place to chase one's passion for jazz as singer Taeko Fukao did, moving over in the early 90's. She now presents her fourth recording, the very tasteful Contemplation. The album contains music from jazz greats such as Benny Golson, Chick Corea, Bill Evans and Billie ...

179
Album Review

Taeko: One Love

Read "One Love" reviewed by Michael P. Gladstone


Say what you will, jazz vocalist Taeko (Fukao)'s One Love is bright and breezy. With a slight trace of accented English, she navigates through eleven mostly mid and up-tempo tunes.

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Taeko moved to New York in 1998 to begin her musical experiences by studying with jazz/gospel vocalist Juanita Hall who sang with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band and with Jon Hendrick-protege Marion Cowings. For One Love, perhaps the most notable aspect ...

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Performance / Tour

Internationally-Acclaimed Songstress TAEKO New Album Contemplation Release Show: October 10th At Birdland!

Internationally-Acclaimed Songstress TAEKO New Album Contemplation Release Show: October 10th At Birdland!

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

Contemplation Album Release Show October 10th at 5:30pm Birdland Jazz Club 315 West 44th St New York, NY 10036 212-581-3080 Personnel: TAEKO: Vocals Theo Hill: Piano François Moutin: Bass Victor Jones: Drums Guest: Sumie Kaneko: Koto Hot House Magazine full page feature (October, 2019) Online Show “Jazz Cafe" to feature TAEKO as its host Jazz singer extraordinaire and entrepreneur TAEKO ...

3

Recording

TAEKO - Internationally Acclaimed Vocalist Explores From McCoy Tyner To Doug Carn With Contemplation! Birdland Jazz Club October 10th!

TAEKO - Internationally Acclaimed Vocalist Explores From McCoy Tyner To Doug Carn With Contemplation! Birdland Jazz Club October 10th!

Source: Scott Thompson Public Relations

Takeko Contemplation Her 4th Release in the U.S. Taeko: Vocals Theo Hill: Piano François Moutin: Bass Victor Jones: Drums Guest: Sumie Kaneko: Koto Internationally-acclaimed jazz songstress from Japan, Takeko releases her 4th album in the U.S. as a leader on October 10, 2019 entitled Contemplation (Flat Nine Records). In Taeko's own words (pronounced Tie-Koe): “This album shows my true love and dedication to the African-American classical art form called jazz, as a singer who came ...

1

Contest

Enter The "Taeko Kunishima - Late Autumn" Giveaway At All About Jazz!

Enter The "Taeko Kunishima - Late Autumn"  Giveaway At All About Jazz!

Source: All About Jazz

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the “Taeko Kunishima - Late Autumn“ giveaway contest starting today. We'll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on September 29th. Click here to enter the contest

(Following Taeko Kunishima at AAJ automatically enters you in the contest.)

Good luck! About Taeko Kunishima Taeko Kunishima started playing piano at seven. Particularly taken by Mozart and Beethoven, she later studied classical piano performance at university. On hearing Miles Davis ...

Performance / Tour

“The Japanese Songbird” Taeko Returns To Jazz At Kitano, NYC On August 22 At 8pm

“The Japanese Songbird” Taeko Returns To Jazz At Kitano, NYC On August 22 At 8pm

Source: Taeko Fukao

The Japanese Songbird Taeko Fukao, known to audiences throughout the world as TAEKO, will be performing at JAZZ AT KITANO on August 22nd with John DiMartino on piano, Ed Howard on bass, and Victor Jones on Drums. Japanese-born Jazz Diva TAEKO has performed in New York City’s top jazz clubs, including Blue Note, Lenox Lounge and Zinc Bar, as well as jazz festivals throughout the United States and Japan. This is her return to JAZZ AT KITANO since the sold- ...

110

Recording

Taeko Kunishima's New Album "Late Autumn" is out Now on the 33Jazz Label

Taeko Kunishima's New Album "Late Autumn" is out Now on the 33Jazz Label

Source: Michael Ricci

Taeko Kunishima's third album finds the pianist (born in Shizuoka, Japan, now based in London) in a mood both lyrical and risk-taking. These nine original compositions fully display Taeko's way with a melody, but this is jazz with a thoroughly contemporary sound. Opener “To The Hebrides" is a meditative piano solo, quickly followed by the driving riff of “Return To Life": Paul Moylan's powerful double bass and Max Hallett's shoot-from-the-hip drums are united in urgency. Sean Corby's eloquent trumpet switches ...

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Performance / Tour

Songbird Taeko @ Chanto, Thurs Jan 24 and More!

Songbird Taeko @ Chanto, Thurs Jan 24 and More!

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services

1/24 (Thu) 8:00pm - 11:00pm CHANTO New York (West Village, NYC) The most beautiful Japanese restaurant/lounge in West Village Address: 133 7th Avenue South, New York 10014 (1 block North of Christopher Street Station on # 1 Train) Phone: 212-463-8686 Taeko (Vocal) Kevin McNeal (Guitar) Bob Bowen (Bass) (Every Friday) 8:00pm - 10:30pm Ethiopian Restaurant (Upper Eastside, NYC) Hearty and healthy Ethiopian food and great wine selections. Come & check out Doug ...

"Taeko is an amazing and exiting songbird from Japan with a great command of her clean voice and keen musicianship. She is one of the best of her generation." —Juanita Fleming, Jazz & Gospel Singer

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Contemplation

Flat Nine Records
2019

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One Love

Self Produced
2008

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Videos

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