OA2 Records Artist Fumi Tomita

...a subtle yet powerful effort which conveys humility and patience putting the music ahead of any unnecessary bravado.
NextBop

Fumi Tomita is a jazz bassist, composer, educator, and author. As a bassist, Tomita was active in the New York jazz scene for over fifteen years and has toured all over the United States. His 2019 recording, The Elephant Vanishes: Jazz Interpretations of the Short Stories of Haruki Murakami, was released to critical acclaim by OA2 Arts records and was listed in the top ten records of 2019 by Jazziz. His 2020 release for Next Level, Celebrating Bird: The Music of Charlie Parker, was similarly received. His newest release, Yokai: Songs of the Japanese Supernatural, is forthcoming in October 2026 on OA2 Records, and was inspired by 19th century woodblock prints of Yokai and other Japanese supernatural creatures derived from folklore. As an author, he has published two books on jazz, The Jazz Rhythm Section (2019) and Introduction to Early Jazz: A Concise Introduction From Its Beginnings Through 1929 (2024). He is currently Associate Professor of Jazz at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.