Record Reviews

YUMI ITO ~ INTERTWINED UNIT 4685 (Barcode: 7640114796852) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2014 Released: 2015 This is the debut album by Polish / Japanese (resident in Switzerland) singer / songwriter Yumi ItoFind albums by this artist, accompanied by a trio comprising of Swiss saxophonist Gabriel DalvitFind albums by this artist and pianist Yves TheilerFind albums by this artist and Russian bassist Yuri GoloubevFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, all of which are classic Jazz standards sung in English. Ito was just twenty-four years old and still a student, when she recorded this album in London, already blessed with an extraordinary vocal ability and unique attitude, as anybody listening to this album can clearly determine. Her approach to the standards is anything but standard, and she takes many risks and liberties, often bordering on Free, amicably supported by the trio. Goloubev supplies an admirably solid bass footing, which holds the music brilliantly together, and sax and piano support Ito following her lead, taking the music away from the source as far as she decides to do. The result, especially in retrospect, is nothing less than sensational. Overall, this is wonderful vocal Jazz album, which presets familiar Jazz standards at times quite close to the original version and also quite far away. Whatever the case may be, it is always superbly performed, both by the singer and the instrumentalists, and in retrospect it presents the early days of one of the most interesting Jazz vocalist to emerge in the last decade. Side Note: I have been looking for a copy of this album helplessly for a decade, until my meeting a few weeks ago in Switzerland with Harald HaerterFind albums by this artist, the founder and original owner of UnitFind albums on this label Records, where he gave me a copy of the album, which closed a big gap in my collection. It appears that I am a stubborn bastard…

Updated: 09/11/2025Posted: 09/11/2025

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend