Fiddle Player Leona Releases Self-Titled EP
Fiddle player and vocalist, Leona, has a unique story that comes from Tokyo to Tennessee, and the self-titled Leona EP showcases five amazing tracks to make your ears stand up and take notice, with help from guitar wizard Richard Bennett, also writers, Shawn Lane, Joie Scott, Alaina Louise Stacy, Steven Sheehan and Blue Miller. Leona’s story starts in Tokyo, Japan, where the fiddler was born and raised and began lessons at the age of four, and had the musical support of her father, a professional musician since the 70s where the story begins but doesn’t end, as Leona’s work continues here.
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Leona started fiddle camps in 2004, and two years later became the first international student to enroll in the Bluegrass and Country Music program at East Tennessee State University, performing with her touring ensemble across Appalachia. The story goes on, involving playing with many well-known musicians around the state and touring internationally, leading up to this debut Leona EP. The songs are brilliant, the playing and singing a match as well, and the contributions from the musicians on the same par of excellence to their own credits. This is one talented individual worth hearing, and I’m glad to recommend it to the masses and hope they eat it up.
Country music, Bluegrass and other elements are found all over the Leona EP, and it kicks off with “Virginia In Springtime” with Richard Bennett on the opening lead cut, and it’s nothing short of spectacular. The voice of Leona comes as a surprise if you’ve never heard her sing, as there couldn’t be a more authentic female country voice, and you just wouldn’t expect it from a Japanese musician every day. The guitar work of Bennett does the business around the fiddle and percussion on these well-produced tracks, all of them checking out from first to last.
“Where Am I” is the new focus track, and it’s a breezy number in contrast to the opener, but the direction doesn’t stay one way on the Leona EP, as it simply flows at its own pace and takes you with it. This song is different, just to put it mildly, but it works as well as anything else on offer with five to choose from in shuffling the tracks from mood to mood. It has the right placement whether you shuffle your tunes or not, it’s just a preference for some listeners.
“Lemon Gap” picks it back up in the string department with Leona singing at a fun-loving country pace, but essentially, it’s a full-blown Bluegrass number indicative of the chosen genre of Leona. The banjo is featured on top of “Dancing Round The Fire” and has a radio-friendly appeal, but it’s not the only track on Leona EP with said appeal, it’s just one of them. This song is on the level of Bluegrass artists like Alison Krauss and other artists of the genre, which is a good thing to remind you of the quality of Leona’s songwriting and musicianship. “Till My Dying Day” ends the EP with another great radio-friendly track.
Mindy McCall
