Record Reviews

YUMI ITO ~ LONELY ISLAND ENJA 7846 (Barcode: 767522784626) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Pop Fusion Recorded: 2024 Released: 2025 This is the 6th album by Polish / Japanese (resident in Switzerland) singer / songwriter Yumi ItoFind albums by this artist, and her first solo recording, which finds her singing and accompanying herself on the piano. The album presents ten tracks, all of which are composed by Ito and feature her lyrics (in English). The music is strikingly original, completely beyond genre classification, but carrying a certain Jazzy coloring, not surprising, considering her musical path and recording legacy so far, but it can definitely be viewed as a very potent singer / songwriter presentation, which in view of her incredible vocal and dramatic presentation capabilities, puts her in the same league as Nina SimoneFind albums by this artist or Carole KingFind albums by this artist. I have been following Ito’s career since her arrival on the scene a decade ago, and she certainly managed to build up a remarkable career and Artistic buildup worthy of her stardom qualities. She offers sublime vocal qualities, moving over the octave range with astounding flexibility, ease and elegance, which is extremely rare. One might speculate why she is not a worldwide superstar by now, but apparently talent and aesthetics are not the stardom qualities required these days. It is both heartwarming and deeply satisfying to see Ito’s continuous development and perfecting of her capabilities, which never cease to amaze. She surely deserves all the exposure she can get, as her great talent should comfort as many people as possible in these gloomy times we live in. Overall, this is an astounding piece of music, extremely potent and captivating, despite the minimalist setting, which finds Yumi Ito as “naked” as a musical Artist can be, and yet it proves to be more effective than ever. Thank you, young Lady, for sharing your talent with us!

Updated: 18/09/2025Posted: 18/09/2025

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