Yishka’s ‘Day’ to blow
A musician for over 40 years, Yishka has an appreciation for diverse genres. Many of the songs and artists he admires cover the gamut of Jamaican music as well as American and British pop.
On “Windy Day”, the singer/saxophonist’s fourth album, he gives listeners a taste of his skills as a composer of original songs. At the same time, he covers songs he has loved for many years.
“Windy Day” is produced by Danny Breakenridge for Upstairs Music. It was released on November 11.
The title song, “Walking Happily” and “Bye Bye” are some of the songs Yishka penned. He does interpretations of Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World”, David Ruffin’s “Walk Away From Love” and “Little Nut Tree”, originally done by The Melodians.
“The reason I think it’s important to have original songs is that is your voice in this case, my voice, is how I conceive music not only with the melodies for the saxophone, but also with songs that I write for voice," Yishka explained.
His eclectic tastes stem from years of playing in bands such as The Soul Syndicate, which had outstanding musicians such as guitarists Earl “Chinna” Smith and Tony Chin, bassist George Fullwood and drummer Santa Davis.
Yishka’s with the ‘Syndicate’ came after years of playing in his father’s band in The Bahamas and Jamaica. Teddy Greaves, his father, played the tourist circuit in both countries.
Yishka is also a veteran of the South Florida reggae scene. His first album, “A Song For You”, was released in 2003, followed nine years later by “Trodding East” and 2021 by “Yishka”.
Written By Howard Campbell