Today we’d like to introduce you to Yu Ooka.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a jazz guitarist and shamisen player.
I was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. I decided to become a professional guitarist when I was 15 because I felt playing guitar was something special to me.
After graduating high school, my parents allowed me to pursue my passion and I attended a music school in Kobe for two years.
And I finally moved to Los Angeles to pursue my career when I was 20.
I did not know anyone in the US when I moved, but soon after, my friend, Nori Iji introduced me to a legendary jazz pianist, Billy Mitchell, who opened the door of my music career.
He was forming a new band and looking for a guitarist.
The deal with him was, once I memorized 20 songs of his repertoires with all his arrangements, I can join his real gigs.
We spent 2 or 3 times a week to rehearse and during the rehearsals, he taught me lots of the “real stuff”, which became my backbone of my current musical life.
I still remember that one time, he stopped playing and started laughing when we played blues.
He said, “You don’t know Blues?? Play Blues, man!”
A 20 years old Asian boy was just messing around the SOUL music, Blues. I was so technical with many notes, but Blues has to be totally opposite.
And more importantly, you need to play with your heart not just fingers.
School is a good place to study, but they never teach us the real stuff, right?
After two months of “the real lessons”, I made my debut gig at a jazz club called “Spaghettini” in Seal Beach and I was so happy!
By joining his band, we traveled sometimes and I experienced many gigs such as jazz festivals, club gigs, millionaire mansion’s party gig and etc.
All the gigs were memorable and I still call him “Billy sensei”.
There are so many great people trusted me and gave me opportunities. I can not mention all, but Barbara Morrison is another person who taught me real.
One day, I had a gig and went to a bar in Little Tokyo in LA. I got there early and someone was doing a vocal lesson before the bar opens.
That was Barbara Morrison, who used to sing with Ray Charles, Count Basie Orchestra, Santana and etc.
Of course, I knew who she was because I had listened to her CD when I was in Japan.
At the end of the lesson, she asked, “Anyone can play an instrument for me?” and I was the only musician there.
I walked up to the stage and started playing guitar next to her. I was so nervous and sweating.
I didn’t remember how, but somehow I made it to the end of the road.
After the lesson is over, she came to me and said “Thank you for playing for me. You sounded great.” with a big smile.
Again, I just moved to the US and barely spoke English at the time.
I became her big fan.
Since then, we have been good friends over 15 years. We traveled together over to Japan 4 times and played many gigs in the US as well. It has been such an honor for me to be able to play with her!
I love teaching as well because I can learn from students.
I have taught at a college and private school.
I had an opportunity to work as a program director for a music school in Alhambra for three years.
Students came from Japan to learn Jazz/R&B with different instruments and the school was not big, so my job was diverse.
I had to interpret in a lesson, teach guitar/music theory, organize lesson schedules, drive a van to pick up students at LAX and many more.
I was so busy every day, but it was fun and such a great experience, too!
One big surprise for myself was, I started playing “Shamisen” in the US.
Shamisen is Japanese traditional instrument like a three string banjo.
Living outside of my country made me realize the beauty of Japanese culture.
I never thought about this in Japan.
I believe this was my destiny. I was led to the master “Sato Matsutoyo”, who has been teaching shamisen & singing over 50 years in California. She also played many TV/movies such as Karate Kid 2 and memorial of Geisha.
“Playing music is more about emotional contents not just about the note or skills”, I learned this through all the great musicians in the US and this is applied for any type of music, but shamisen has a little bit deeper side.
In order to make the “good sound”, you need to control yourself physically and mentally in a good balance.
The least movement can make the most beautiful sound.
You got to be a samurai with a shamisen sword.
Japanese traditional music(Minyo music) became one of my biggest music influences now.
I remember that at the first shamisen lesson, Matsutoyo sensei said, “One day, you will appreciate that you can play shamisen. in the US.”
And after over ten years, she was right.
There are many shamisen players who can play better than me, but probably I am the only shamisen player that I can approach as a Jazz guitarist.
I can keep talking forever, but this is my story!
I want to say big THANK YOU for all the great people that I met in the US.
And this is why I am still here and…. their fault!!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This must be my lifetime mission, but to understand who I am and how to put myself into playing guitar/shamisen is my mission. I don’t want to sound like other guitarists. I want to find my own Yu Ooka sound and I will.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Before the pandemic started, I was gigging and traveling to Japan, Taiwan, Canada and other states in the US. for different occasions playing with my own band or playing for artists such as Grammy-winning Thelma Houston, Former Ladies of The Supremes and etc.
I also make music and provide live music for companies and commercials.
The music can be jazz, smooth jazz, blues, and Japanese-oriented music.
I recently made fusion Japanese music for an event of Southern California Edison company.
If you look for music for your virtual event, we can zoom/Facebook live, too!
Oh!! My current HOT project is “Yu-Ki Project”, which blends shamisen into smooth jazz, rock and pop music.
In this project, I make music with Kimo Cornwell, who is an amazing keyboardist/composer and also known as a member of the Grammy nominee jazz group, “HIROSHIMA”.
There are already fusion shamisen bands in Japan, but how we approach is totally different and very unique.
We don’t sound like anyone else.
We have done some virtual shows during the pandemic, but hopefully, we can release our music officially soon.
Please check out our gofundme page for more details! If you could support us, that will be much appreciated, too!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Yes. Hanging out with older people and listening to their stories is the key.
Especially when you are young, you don’t want to listen to other people, but there are always someone who experienced more than you did and you can learn the secret from them.
This is the same thing with showing respect to history.
You can decide whether you follow the advice or not, but it never hurts to listen.
I was so lucky because I was always the youngest musician in a band!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://yuooka.amebaownd.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yulivehere/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yu.ooka.1
- SoundCloud: https://music.apple.com/us/album/vegas-drive/1090306261
- Other: gf.me/u/xn3q8q
Image Credits:
Nina_217 Stephen Linsley Geovani Aleksandr
