* En anglais uniquement
As
Mondo Grosso, Japanese track-master
Shinichi Osawa has acted alone and with various vocalists and collaborators -- ranging from
Monday Michiru to
N'dea Davenport to
Tania Maria -- to produce some of the most stylish acid jazz, house, and R&B produced in his country during the '90s. Born in 1967, the man from Sakura Hills began recording in 1989 and released his first
Mondo Grosso material during 1992-1993, including his self-titled debut album on Japan's For Life imprint. Its globetrotting flair (indebted to American disco and R&B, British acid jazz, Brazilian samba) led a vanguard of mature Japanese dance music also including
United Future Organization and
Pizzicato 5. Licensing agreements on several compilations resulted in
Mondo Grosso's "Souffles H" becoming a club hit in the West as well, and the second
MG LP, Born Free, followed in 1995, with vocalist/collaborators including
Monday Michiru and
Jhelisa.
Perhaps responding to the rather canned sound of Born Free,
Shinichi Osawa enlisted a range of instrumentalists for 1997's Closer, including
Salsoul Orchestra mainman Vince Montana Jr. plus session veterans like guitarist
Chuck Loeb, keyboard player
James Preston, and the East 4th Horns. He also formed his own label, For Real records, which released material by the Japanese vocalist
Bird, as well as the fourth
Mondo Grosso LP,
MG4. Osawa has also released a solo mix album on For Real, Sakura Hills Disco 3000. ~ John Bush