Bassist, composer, and bandleader Noriyuki "Ken" Okada leads this supercharged modern jazz-fusion quartet featuring several of the West Coast's finest instrumentalists including 14-year-old Japanese drumming phenomenon YOYOKA - a remarkably gifted young artist whose viral YouTube videos have gained millions of views for her singular combination of advanced technical facility and joyous expressiveness. Okada and the band present the groove-heavy jazz-funk of his recent album, Square One.
Born in New York and raised in Brazil and Japan, Okada has merged the varied cultural influences of his upbringing into his music and has established himself as a top-drawer musician and collaborator since his arrival in the Bay Area in 2002. He's recorded and performed with artists including Akira Tana, John Worley, Leon Joyce, Yancie Taylor, Destiny Muhammad, Kristen Strom, and Rick Vandivier, and formed the Ken Okada Group as his first venture as a bandleader. The band's debut, Square One, is an entrancing collection of original compositions traversing myriad styles that feature the kinetic drumming of YOYOKA.
First picking up drumsticks at the age of two, Yoyoka Soma became an internet sensation in 2018 for her amazing YouTube performance of Led Zeppelin's classic "Good Times Bad Times" filmed when she was eight. The clip has amassed over 3 million views and won praise from Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant. She is the youngest person featured on Drummerworld.com's list of Top 500 Drummers, has made appearances on major television programs, and appeared in Newsweek Japan's "100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World."
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Born in New York and raised in Brazil and Japan, Okada has merged the varied cultural influences of his upbringing into his music and has established himself as a top-drawer musician and collaborator since his arrival in the Bay Area in 2002. He's recorded and performed with artists including Akira Tana, John Worley, Leon Joyce, Yancie Taylor, Destiny Muhammad, Kristen Strom, and Rick Vandivier, and formed the Ken Okada Group as his first venture as a bandleader. The band's debut, Square One, is an entrancing collection of original compositions traversing myriad styles that feature the kinetic drumming of YOYOKA.
First picking up drumsticks at the age of two, Yoyoka Soma became an internet sensation in 2018 for her amazing YouTube performance of Led Zeppelin's classic "Good Times Bad Times" filmed when she was eight. The clip has amassed over 3 million views and won praise from Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant. She is the youngest person featured on Drummerworld.com's list of Top 500 Drummers, has made appearances on major television programs, and appeared in Newsweek Japan's "100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World."
Bassist, composer, and bandleader Noriyuki "Ken" Okada leads this supercharged modern jazz-fusion quartet featuring several of the West Coast's finest instrumentalists including 14-year-old Japanese drumming phenomenon YOYOKA - a remarkably gifted young artist whose viral YouTube videos have gained millions of views for her singular combination of advanced technical facility and joyous expressiveness. Okada and the band present the groove-heavy jazz-funk of his recent album, Square One.
Born in New York and raised in Brazil and Japan, Okada has merged the varied cultural influences of his upbringing into his music and has established himself as a top-drawer musician and collaborator since his arrival in the Bay Area in 2002. He's recorded and performed with artists including Akira Tana, John Worley, Leon Joyce, Yancie Taylor, Destiny Muhammad, Kristen Strom, and Rick Vandivier, and formed the Ken Okada Group as his first venture as a bandleader. The band's debut, Square One, is an entrancing collection of original compositions traversing myriad styles that feature the kinetic drumming of YOYOKA.
First picking up drumsticks at the age of two, Yoyoka Soma became an internet sensation in 2018 for her amazing YouTube performance of Led Zeppelin's classic "Good Times Bad Times" filmed when she was eight. The clip has amassed over 3 million views and won praise from Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant. She is the youngest person featured on Drummerworld.com's list of Top 500 Drummers, has made appearances on major television programs, and appeared in Newsweek Japan's "100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World."
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Born in New York and raised in Brazil and Japan, Okada has merged the varied cultural influences of his upbringing into his music and has established himself as a top-drawer musician and collaborator since his arrival in the Bay Area in 2002. He's recorded and performed with artists including Akira Tana, John Worley, Leon Joyce, Yancie Taylor, Destiny Muhammad, Kristen Strom, and Rick Vandivier, and formed the Ken Okada Group as his first venture as a bandleader. The band's debut, Square One, is an entrancing collection of original compositions traversing myriad styles that feature the kinetic drumming of YOYOKA.
First picking up drumsticks at the age of two, Yoyoka Soma became an internet sensation in 2018 for her amazing YouTube performance of Led Zeppelin's classic "Good Times Bad Times" filmed when she was eight. The clip has amassed over 3 million views and won praise from Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant. She is the youngest person featured on Drummerworld.com's list of Top 500 Drummers, has made appearances on major television programs, and appeared in Newsweek Japan's "100 Most Respected Japanese People in the World."
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SFJAZZ Center - SF Jazz
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201 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
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