Yuko Usui

Encompassing a wide breadth of musical experience, Yuko Usui has emerged as a jazz singer of unique character. Her attractive and dynamic voice transforms familiar standards into deeply personal statements. She performs regularly at jazz clubs in Osaka, Japan.

Coming from a musical family, Yuko Usui commenced studying the piano at age three with her mother, a piano teacher. As a piano performance major at Osaka College of Music, she became inspired by the expressive potential of jazz. After graduation, she began to sing professionally, winning a jazz vocal competition at the Royal Horse (Osaka, Japan).

Not long after that, Ms. Usui ventured to New York City. There, she spent a great deal of time studying English and voice. Since her return to Japan, she has been singing in gospel choirs, soul music bands and jazz combos, further broadening her palette of musical expression, and developing a wide following of listeners who enjoy the vitality of her performances.  She also continues to study jazz with Dr. Phillip Strange and voice training with Misa Makino.  

Yuko Usui recorded her first CD—Summer Me—in August 2011. An intensely personal lyric exposition, Summer Me contains a rich variety of material, including well-known jazz standards, an Allman Brothers song, and an original composition by Phillip Strange.