artist info

Having been influenced by a mother who loved music, the 18th winner of the Kobe Jazz Queen Contest, Yuka, has enjoyed music since her early childhood. At the age of 6, she was inspired by her first musical theater experience, Annie, and started jazz dance lessons. Watching movies and listening to music, she became more interested in the world of show business. She began taking vocal lessons at the age of 11 and longed to be a great singer and dancer like Fred Astaire. However, the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake in 1995 prevented her from pursuing her dream of becoming an actress. She took a job at an office after graduating from college instead. Singing songs was still her favorite leisure activity and she enjoyed singing rock ‘n roll with her band. After a while, Yuka decided to focus on becoming a professional singer and started vocal training again, studying a variety of music genres such as POP, rock, and country. She became deeply impressed with and embraced the sound of jazz when hearing authentic jazz during her two trips to the U.S. While continuing as a student of music, she now performs in jazz clubs in Kobe, Osaka and Tokyo on regular basis as well as teaches vocal lessons to younger generations.

Message from Yuka: Singing in the U.S. has been such a big dream since my childhood. I am overwhelmed to be able to perform in Seattle as the Kobe Shinkaichi Jazz Vocal Queen. It is also my great honor to win the title on this very special year of celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Kobe-Seattle sister city relationship and the 150th anniversary of Port of Kobe. I always try to sing from the bottom of my heart. I sincerely hope my passion for jazz will reach you all and that every one of you will have a wonderful time with me at Jazz Alley. Well, it’s show time, now! Let’s enjoy the evening together!