Guiding the music is the full voice of the vocalist Ueda, singing in Portuguese and booming with honey richness and strength, swirling around and through the music with a gravitational pull on the dynamics. The music sizzles with kinetic energy and sheer pleasure, and Ueda’s confidence and control fits the bill grandly.

As with her debut album Agora, the singer is supported by her familiar guitar and piano mates Shinji Hashimoto and Junichiro Ohkuchi. For Dois, she adds bassist Ryoji Orihara and drummer Nobuyuki Komatsu to the rhythm section for extra vigor and irresistible samba beats, experts at creating the rhythmic currents that soothe, pulse, and energize. Guest Jo Da Babylonia also joins on cavaquinho on three tracks, adding a classical guitar/ukelele sound which enhances the Brazilian sound with keen, invigorating vibrations.

Audio and Video

• Yuka Ueda performing live in 2015:

• Yuka Ueda performing live in 2018:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Meu Escudo”

The striking singer assembles some of her favorite partners for this effort, including guitarist Shinji Hashimoto, pianist Junichiro Ohkuchi, and bassist Daisuke Toi. This jazz family of musicians also joins Yuka Ueda (sometimes written as Yu~ka, Yũka, or Yuuka Ueda) frequently at her beloved neighborhood jazz bar Gate One in Tokyo.

On Agora, Ueda leads with a straightforward piano-guitar-voice format, the strong, full voice of the singer confidently flowing over the evocative chords for an atmosphere brimming with romance, nostalgia, and zest.

Yuka Ueda’s repertoire accumulated over years of performing both well-known and less familiar authentic Brazilian music, and this album contains just a tantalizing selection of those fan favorites, making for an eagerly-awaited release.

Lovers of Brazilian and Latin music will be delighted with songs such as “Reunao De Tristeza”, “Flor De Lis”, and “Pressentimento”, and casual listeners will recognize the familiar tunes “Triste” and “Dinji” which are often played as standards on jazz albums. In a creative twist, the song “Berimbau”, which often provokes rousing energy at Yuka Ueda’s live shows, gets special treatment here as the album’s prologo and epilogo bookends, performed in vocal solo with whispering tones and booming sincerity for quite a personal touch.

Audio and Video

• Video of Yuka Ueda singing “Pressentimento” live:

• Video of Yuka Ueda singing “Triste” live:

• Excerpt from track #9: “Pressentimento”

Her beautiful, crystal-clear delivery resonates with an easy joyfulness and charm, yet can also reflect depths of dramatic emotion to moving effect. Building on the strength of her veteran backup musicians, her innate jazz timing elevates the performance and welcomes the listener straight into the music.

Her self-described “juicy voice” is powerful with natural buoyancy and shimmering vibrations, and her impressively clear pronunciation adds another level of quality to this enjoyable session.

This 12-track album is well-rounded and arranged like a live performance, with five standard jazz swing numbers (including “Cheek to Cheek”, “Our Love Is Here To Stay”, “All Of Me”), Latin/bossa songs (“How Insensitive”, “Antonio’s Song”, …), slower ballads (“Blame It On My Youth”, …), and the title song done in a groovy, soulful style.

Audio and Video

• “Tea For Two” from the album release performance:

• “So Many Stars” from the album release performance:

• “Day In, Day Out” from the album release performance:

• “Cheek To Cheek” from the album release performance:

• Excerpt from track #7: “チーク・トゥ・チーク (Cheek To Cheek)”

Audio and Video

• Satoshi Kosugi with Kanji Ohta and Kenichiro Murata playing “Chasin’ the Bird”:

• Excerpt from track #1: “Monk’s Dream”