プロフィール Biography

アメリカ南部・西海岸，メキシコで、ジャズ，ゴスペル，ブルース，ミュージカル，ラテンミュージックに囲まれた環境で育つ。

アメリカ南部教会専属聖歌隊のメンバーとして歌ったことをきっかけに活動を開始。高校時代にアメリカ南部州代表オーディションに合格し、中世賛美歌および「ラ ミゼラブル」のアルトパートで活躍する。

その後アメリカ音大の奨学金を付与されたが、家庭の事情で音大への進学を断念。大学では国際経営学、組織心理学を学ぶ。アメリカ大学院では国際経営学で修士号を取得、卒業後は西海岸およびメキシコ北部拠点に音楽活動開始。

2013年に台湾老舗ジャズクラブである「Jazz Spot Swing 」のマスターの勧めでジャズを歌い始める。

そして後藤浩二をプロデューサーに迎え、2014年より名古屋を拠点にジャズを本格的に歌い始める。現在は名古屋を中心に活動中。

Born in South Carolina. Having grown up in Japan and the Southen part of U.S., with her mixed Japanese-European background, she was exposed to variety of music including, jazz, blues, gospel, rock, pops, salsa, rock espanol, samba, bossa nova , musical, classics, j-pop, etc.
Sumire always loved to perform from her early stage. She recalls, "I was always so happy to sing or perform. I remember that I was on the stage of some county fair, maybe I was just four or five, and I sang a Japanese soul music, which was totally unexpected to hear from a four-or five-year-old. The audience was so surprised but loved my singing then I got so excited ."
Sumire was musically active during school years. She begun singing at age 10, music lessons and joined her school orchestra on clarinet and tenor saxophone at age13, participated a drama course also at age 13, joined a church gospel choir at age 15. Then she was selected for an all-state choir.

Sumire started singing professionally at age 20 in Osaka, Japan, where she was introduced to sing jazz for the first time. Then continued her singing career while she attended a college and a graduate school in California studied business administration and strategic management, graduated with cum laude. Upon graduation,
Sumire pursued her business interests and joined Sony, then she temporary stopped her singing activities due to personal conflicts and health reasons.

Sumire relocated to Nagoya, Japan in 2013 and started to take jazz lessons from Ms. Hitomi Ueda, begun singing jazz. Sumire debuted in 2014. At her debut stage, Sumire's performance was highly praised and critiqued as " at a glance, she looks a very quiet and sweet Japanese gal, but she is direct and delivers blues that she perhaps acquired when she was growing up in the South, with a simple vocal styling that keeps understandability of songs' lyrics."

Based in Nagoya, Sumire sings jazz at various prestigious clubs in Nagoya, Tokyo, Kansai, and also sings internationally.