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

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend

NINA SIMONE ~ THE COMPLETE RCA ALBUMS COLLECTION SONY 886979389021 (Barcode: 886979389021) ~ USA ~ Blues Recorded: 1967 - 1974 Released: 2011 The American Diva Nina SimoneFind albums by this artist recorded the majority of her musical legacy during a relatively short period of time in the late 1960s / early 1970s for the RCAFind albums on this label label. This sublime Box Set collects all nine of her RCA albums, remastered and with a plethora of bonus tracks, mini-sleeved and with a booklet detailing all the recording sessions. This is an amazing body of work of one of America´s most idiosyncratic Artists, which influenced musicians and listeners all over the world, shaking the ground and slaughtering holy cows by the dozen. A pioneer of human rights and women rights activism, Simone never restrained herself from expressing her strong viewpoints, which often resulted in controversy and even persecution from US authorities, which made her to leave the US and settle in Europe. Her musical direction reminded eclectic and included everything from Blues to Jazz, Pop, Gospel, Soul, Folk and even a strong Classical Music influence. Unfortunately her later career was a victim of her poor health (both physical and mental) and her recorded work never again reached the peak presented by the albums in this box. With a ridiculous price tag, this Box Set is an absolute must. Essential!

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 9 Mini-Sleeve Box Set Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend

AGA ZARYAN ~ REMEMBERING NINA & ABBEY PARLOPHONE 5099940988122 (Barcode: 5099940988122) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 2013 Released: 2013 This is the eighth album by the Queen in residence of the Polish Jazz scene since several years, the wonderful Aga ZaryanFind albums by this artist. As the title clearly points out, Zaryan creates here a tribute to two remarkable Afro-American female vocalists, which she admires not only for their superb vocal abilities but also for what they stood for as public figures fighting against discrimination, abuse of human and civil rights, chauvinism and sexism, both openly voicing their opinions and willing to pay the price associated with such behavior at the time. The album presents thirteen songs, all of which are either written by or associated with Nina SimoneFind albums by this artist and Abbey LincolnFind albums by this artist. Zaryan is accompanied by a formidable team, which includes pianist Geri AllenFind albums by this artist, guitarist Larry KoonseFind albums by this artist, harpist Carol RobbinsFind albums by this artist, bassist Darek OleszkiewiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Brian BladeFind albums by this artist. Zaryan is known for her artistic courage, which she already proved several times during her career. This project is undoubtedly the boldest step she ever undertook, as Nina & Abbey are among the most idiosyncratic vocalist ever and in most cases any attempt to interpret their original work leads to miserable failure. Zaryan decided to approach this repertoire on her own ground, treating the songs with a new approach, reshaping them rather than trying to simply interpret them, and by doing this she managed to escape the intrinsic dangers and traps. Of course such treatment might be considered disrespectful by purists, but listening to sticklers is by definition contradictory the spirit of artistic innovation. One of the transformations Zaryan applied to all these songs was to slow them down, sometimes just slightly and in other cases considerably. As a result this album as a whole is deeply melancholic, a state of mind which Zaryan always uses to her advantage, as she is a Grand Mistress of lyricism and its dark corners and flickering lights. Yes, it is that famous Polish melancholy, which adds a new dimension to the original songs, amalgamating the black soul of Afro-American lyricism with the tormented Polish spirit. Another decisive factor, which creates the special atmosphere that this album conveys, is the limited and sparing usage of the instrumental accompaniment and the inclusion of the delicate harp, which ideally suits the mood. The musicians present here are all masters of their trade, which of course is easily audible, but the way Zaryan is positioned in the center of the stage with the instruments sympathetically supporting her, is simply remarkable; a classic example of personal graciousness, respect and modesty on their part. This is another important step for Zaryan, which expands yet again her overall position as complete Artists, this time putting aside the role of a composer of original material and concentrating on interpreting the work of other women. Hopefully we´ll hear her again soon singing her new original material. In the meantime this one should keep us worm for a while. Thank you Dear!

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