A fantastic album, especially for those who love Japanese pop (J-Pop) music and are also interested in ukulele or ukulele music.
ARTIST: Herb Ohta, Jr.
ALBUM: Cocolo: ‘Ukulele J-Ballads
LABEL: Victor Entertainment Inc., Japan
CATALOG #: (VICP-64726)
DURATION: 53 Minutes
RELEASE DATE: 2009
DISC:
1. Tsunami
2. Sakura
3. Shimanchu Nu Takara
4. Yozora no Mukou
5. Genki wo Dashite
6. Nada Sousou
7. Manatsu no Kajitsu
8. Kanpai
9. Itsumo Nandodemo
10. Ookina Furu Dokei
11. Hui’Ana
12. A Thousand Springs
Herb Ohta is known as one of the legends of ukulele and for popularizing ukulele music worldwide. And in August 2020, his son Herb Ohta, Jr., who has built a foundation of being one of Japan’s premiere ukulele music artists, celebrates his 30th anniversary as a next-generation ukulele artist.
Herb Ohta, Jr. began his career in 1990 when his father asked him to be featured on one of his recordings.
He has since released 14 solo recordings, 13 duet recordings, contributions on more than 40 recordings, a songbook in Korea and two instructional books with Daniel Ho.
Ohta, Jr. is known in Japan, performing there, donating sales from a charity CD “E Ku’u One Hanau” with Tony Conjugacion to help the people who suffered from the tsunami and earthquake of Tohoku, Japan.
Back in 2009, Ohta Jr. released his 9th solo recording in Japan titled “Cocolo: ‘Ukulele J-Ballads” featuring solo ukulele covers of popular Japanese songs.
The album kicks off with a beautiful rendition of Southern All Stars songs “Tsunami” and followed by another wonderful cover of Moriyama Naotaro’s “Sakura”.
The third track featuresa ukulele cover of BEGIN’s Okinawan classic “Shimanchu nu Takara” and possibly one of the biggest surprises was to hear a uke cover of SMAP’s “Yozora no Mukou” (Japan’s #1 song of 1999).
The fifth track is a ukulele cover of Takeuchi Mariya’s popular “Genki wo Dashite” and followed by another popular uke cover of Natsukawa Rimi’s “Nada Sousou”.
The seventh track features another wonderful Southern All Stars uke cover of “Manatsu no Kajitsu”. Another surprise was the eighth track, a cover of Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi’s classic “Kanpai”.
The ninth track is a ukulele cover of a song that is played a lot by people on ukulele and that is the Ghibli song “Itsumo Nandodemo” from “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi” (Spirited Away).
The 10th and final ukukule cover is of Hirai Ken’s ballad “Ookina Furu Dokei”.
The final two songs feature Herb Ohta, Jr. originals. The 11th track is actually Ohta Jr.’s song from his 2014 album “Pure Ukulele” titled “Hui’ Ana” (togetherness).
And the final track is “A Thousand Springs”, a classic Ohta Jr. song from his 2007 album “Ukulele Journey”.
Overall, a fantastic album, especially for those who love Japanese pop (J-Pop) music and are also interested in ukulele or ukulele music.
It’s important to note that while this can be purchased on Amazon Japan, you can purchase the music digitally through Herb’s website.
Herb Ohta, Jr’s, “Cocolo: ‘Ukulele J-Ballads” is recommended!
