The Guitar Player's Resource
From Me To You features the sultry jazz fusion of Hawaii based guitarist David Yamasaki, a CD that quietly eludes stylistic categorization - and that's the way Yamasaki likes it. Right off the bat, "Samurai Hee-Haw" lets the listener know they're not listening to another Mike Stern or Pat Martino clone, with its Asian-influenced triple meter melody and unusual tones. An original track, "J-Town Blues" kicks off with Ron Stallings' tenor saxophone and a Kenny Penalver keyboard solo before Yamasaki lays in with a clean-toned solo that will impress all skeptics. Other highlights include Yamasaki's cover of Jaco Pastorius' "Three Views Of A Secret" (with a samba/mambo arrangement - good choice), and other original, "After Touch", an extended number with Earl Klugh-like acoustic guitar lines and Penalver's graceful piano work. If you're looking for new jazz from an up-and-coming solo artist, check out Yamasaki's From Me To You. David Yamasaki was originally profiled in the April-May, 2004 edition of The Undiscovered.
David studied ethnomusicology at the University of Washington, Seattle, and guitar at Berklee College of Music, Boston, before receiving a BA and MA from California State University, Hayward. He has recorded with Tito Puente, Sheila E., Pete Escovedo Orchestra, John Santos and the Machete Ensemble, Deems, and Nikita Germaine and has performed in music videos and film including Bill Cosby's Leonard, Part Six. Additional performances include Lou Rawls, Louie Bellson, Dianne Schuur, Eddie Fisher, Faye Carol, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Forty Niner Band, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood, Wayne Wallace and Rhythm and Rhyme, and Fred Berry as well as accompaniment for Frederica Von Stade. He has written scores for two PBS productions and charts for Ramsey Lewis. His teaching experience includes Stanford Jazz Camp, Jazz Camp, Aptos, and San Quentin Prison as well as his current position at Maryknoll School in Honolulu.
Yamasaki hopes to make enough money from From Me To You to record another CD, which he promises will be very different from his solo debut, as he explores new styles and textures.
David Yamasaki
United States
Web site: www.yamasongs.com