Mayumi is an accomplished pianist, synthesist, composer and producer whose music touches the inner soul and connects with the human spirit. This CD left me with a powerful message, with a story, that clearly marks a new phase in Mayumi's music. I could sense the form of a person facing real problems (a soul on the Earth), moving step by step toward a goal, while holding a vision as big as the cosmos that includes the Earth. All of these pieces steadily reflect an image of connection between the living Earth body (Gaia) and the human spirit. Together they give me the feeling, as the titles suggest, of an immense inquiry into how we are to live as we face the present and the future. Always attentive to the big question--the relationship between this miraculous water planet and we humans--and ready to bring full strength to the problems close at hand, the "sanctuary" at the end of the "passage" is revealed. It's in our own souls. Masahide Iwano “Journey of Soul” piano solo piece of the album “Passage to Sanctuary” was played by Heart of Space (230 national public radio stations). XM Satellite radio Ch 77 chose such well known composer as Keith Jarrett, Geroge Winston and Patrick O’hearn in their “the sublime world of contemplative piano” “Passage to Sanctuary” and “A soul on the Earth” have been on air from Heart of Space.