A world away form the cut and thrust of boxing Lumithia revels in the road less travelled, a stepaside from the hurly burly and noise that deafens. You hear the slides, touch of wood, raw bones of the instrument as a factor on this measured, very elegant project. Strino performs entirely solo on electric guitar and sings a little at the end. But she makes the guitar sing, gently weep and so much more
The title track references a novel by Strino’s mother. Other pieces connect to the work of historical women. ‘La Campana di Vetro’ reflects on Sylvia Plath. ‘Virginia’ and ‘Modesta’ reference Virginia Woolf and Goliarda Sapienza.
Born in Naples, Strino grew up in an artistic family. Her early training took place at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Her discography includes the appealing 2023 album I Got Strings with Greg Cohen and Joey Baron. She followed this with her fine quartet album, Matilde, in 2025.
Ermanno Basso produced the 49-minute record at Artesuono studios near Udine. Lumithia is currently available on CD and digital formats. You can hear I guess either it’s his or more probably the voice of engineer Stefano Amerio say “Alfonsina Take 1” prior to Eleonora’s version of the Ariel Ramirez classic ‘Alfonsina y el mar’ synonymous with Mercedes Sosa. It was on her late-1960s Mujeres argentinas album. Here Strino also softly sings appealingly. The song itself is a tragic tribute song about the suicide of Argentine feminist poet Alfonsina Storn. The treatment is tender and not at all overly maudlin. I’ve added this gem of an album from an artist who seems to grow in stature with every new release to my list of top Eurojazz this year – click for the list.
