
Lonely Island
Yumi Ito – Lonely Island
Out September 19, 2025 – enja yellowbird
With Lonely Island, Swiss-Polish-Japanese artist Yumi Ito releases her first solo album — a raw, intimate reimagining of her own work.
For this deeply personal project, she revisits ten original compositions from her critically acclaimed albums Stardust Crystals and Ysla, stripping them down to their emotional core. Recorded live with voice and piano simultaneously, the album preserves the acoustic warmth and spontaneity of each performance — a rarity in today’s studio landscape.
As a classically trained pianist who began her musical path at the age of three under the Suzuki Method, Ito draws on a lifelong connection to intuitive, ear-based learning. Lonely Island marks the first time she incorporates extended solo piano improvisations into a recording, allowing space for vulnerability, reflection, and reinvention.
“These songs have traveled the world with me,” she writes. “They’ve grown and changed through countless performances. Now feels like the right time to return to their essence — to complete the circle and open new doors.”
Lonely Island was recorded and mixed by Lara Persia at Lemura Studio, capturing the vivid energy of a live concert. The first three singles — “Is It You (solo version),” “Little Things (solo version),” and “After The End (solo version)” — are already available on all streaming platforms and YouTube, with more music to come ahead of the album’s release on September 19, 2025 via enja yellowbird.
The solo album will be followed by Ito’s next band release, Distant Voices, in 2026, with an international tour planned across Europe, Asia, North and South America. Distant Voices (2026), will present an entirely new body of work, continuing her evolution as a composer and performer.
About Yumi Ito
The Swiss-Polish-Japanese vocalist, pianist, and composer creates complex soundscapes with piano and vocal improvisation that stretch from pop to avant-garde. — Tim Dickeson, Jazzwise Magazine
Yumi Ito is recognized by critics as one of the most original and exciting voices in contemporary jazz. Based in Basel, Switzerland, the award-winning artist performs regularly around the world and has shared the stage with Al Jarreau, Becca Stevens, and Mark Turner.
Her fifth album, Ysla (enja, 2023), weaves personal stories, impressive improvisations, and a unique voice — like an island: proud, stoic, and strong amid the ocean of Art-Pop, Jazz, and Neoclassicism. Yumi Ito performs solo or with her international band, which includes guitarist Alessio Cazzetta, double bassist Nadav Erlich, and drummer Iago Fernández.
Always in focus: the creation of musical worlds in the spirit of boundlessness. Yumi Ito tours internationally, with milestones including the Blue Note Jazz Festival (US), Montreux Jazz Festival (CH), European Showcase jazzahead! 2024, Jazzmandu Festival (NP), Vejer Jazz Festival (ES), Schaffhauser Jazz Festival (CH), Jazzfest Trondheim (NO), Cairo Jazz Festival (EG), and Jazz Festival Basel «offbeat» (CH), among many others.
Recent appearances have included sold-out shows at the JazzArt Festival at NOSPR in Katowice (Poland), Veneto Jazz Festival at the legendary La Fenice in Venice (Italy), Akbank Jazz Festival in Istanbul (Turkey), Euro-Venezuelan Jazzfestival (Venezuela), and ZOA Festival in Ardagger Stift (Austria).
A prize winner of the Montreux Jazz Competition, Yumi Ito was selected for the Focus Year Program under Wolfgang Muthspiel at the Jazzcampus Basel (2017–2018), received the High Priority Jazz Grant from Pro Helvetia (2022–2024), and was unanimously chosen by the jury for the European Showcase at Jazzahead! in Bremen (2024).

Videos & Photos
Little Things (Solo Version)
Is It You (Solo Version)
Drama Queen (Live at Cavatina Hall)
Talk To Me (Live in Venice)
After The End (Solo Version)
Love Is Here To Stay (Live at Unterfahrt)

YouTube Shorts
Press & Reviews
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Music from another planet, spherical and with an extraordinarily aesthetic sound.
— Concerto Magazine
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Rich arrangements and a voice that spans a vast vocal range.
— SKJazz Magazine, Patrick Spanko (about Ysla 2023)
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Ysla is going to be something of a 2023 highlight.
— UK Vibe, Steve Williams (about Ysla 2023)

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Selected Past Performances
Blue Note Jazz Festival New York (US)
Montreux Jazzfestival (CH)
Jazzahead Showcases Bremen (DE)
Veneto Jazz Festival Venice (IT)
Schaffhauser Jazzfestival (CH)
Copenhagen Jazz Festival (DK)
Palermo Jazz Festival (IT)
Musica Morfosi Festival (IT)
Empoli Jazz Festival (IT)
Peperoncino Jazzfestival (IT)
Vejer Jazzfestival (ES) Cotton Jazz Club Ascoli Piceno (IT)
Kaufleuten Zürich (CH)
April Jazz Festival Espoo (FN)
Castroreale Jazzfestival (IT)
Burgjazz Festival (DE)
Jazz Au Peuple Festival (CH)
Jazz Juniors Krakow (PL)
Summer Jazz Festival Krakow (PL)
Katowice JazzArt Festival (PL)
Bluenote Sao Paulo (BR)
Moods Zürich (CH)
Cully Jazz Festival (CH)
Offbeat Jazzfestival Basel (CH)
Akademia Letnia Jazzu Festival Lodz (PL)
Theaterstübchen Kassel (DE)
Live In Vevey (CH)
NOSPR Katowice (PL)
Autumn Of Music Festival Montreux (CH)
Women in (e)-motion Festival (DE)
Blue Note Poznan (PL)
Jazzmandu Festival (NP)
Ball Arte Festival (ES)
Nigran Jazz Festival (ES)
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