Mondo Grosso

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.



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