More about Lisa Ono....

Born in São Paulo of Japanese descent, Lisa has been living in Japan since age 10. Even having lived in Brazil for such a short time, she was turned into a type of MPB (Brazil Popular Music) ambassador in Japan, influenced by her father, who owned a club while living in Brazil, and was also Baden Powell's agent. After moving to Japan, Lisa's dad opened a new venue called Saci-Pererê where she started performing mainly bossa nova and samba. Besides singing, Lisa Ono plays the guitar and is a songwriter. Her first album, Catupiry, was released in 1989, and she hasn't stopped recording since then, putting out one disc a year, mostly in Portuguese. In 1991 her album Nanã won the "Grand Prix Gold Disk Award for Jazz" in Japan. Her third album Menina was recorded in Rio, and won the same Grand Prix award.

1992 was a busy year for Lisa. She released her second outstanding album on the BMG label called Serenata Carioca (be sure to read the review on our page by Thom Jurek from the All Music Guide), and she also released her first book Felicidade. In 1994 she released Esperança, with guest appearances by Tom Jobim, Sivuca, Paulo Moura, Danilo Caymmi and Mario Adnet. The following year she made Minha Saudade, dedicated to works by João Donato, who also wrote the arrangements. In 1996 Antonio Adolfo co-produced her CD Rio Bossa. (To read coments by Antonio Adolfo about working with Lisa, click here.) In 1998 Lisa released the album Bossa Carioca, produced by Paulo and Daniel Jobim. (To read comments by Daniel Jobim about working with Lisa, click here.) She also started a label, Nanã, aimed at promoting Brazilian music in Japan.

In 1999 Oscar Casto-Neves co-produced her CD Dream, which sold over 200,000 copies. This recording was made in America, and contains classic American songs and film music from the 1940's/50's done with bossa nova arrangements. (To read comments by Oscar Castro-Neves about working with Lisa, click here.) In July of 2000, Lisa continued her exploration of songs in English with the release of Pretty World,
co-produced by Eumir Deodato. (To read comments by Eumir Deodato about working wth Lisa, click here.) In the fall of 2000 she released Boas Festas, a "winter bossa" album to celebrate the holiday season. The album includes original songs as well as fresh bossa arragements of classic American Christmas carols. Continuing her exploration of new material, In the summer of 2001 Lisa released Bossa Hula Nova, which as the title suggests includes some new and classic Hawaiian songs done in a bossa nova style. This CD includes arrangements by Mário Adnet, who appears on many of her recordings. (To read comments by Mário Adnet about working with Lisa, click here.) In March 2002 Lisa released Lisa Ono Best 1997-2001. This CD also includes two wonderful new live songs recorded on Lisa's "winter bossa" tour in December 2001. In July 2002, Lisa released Questa Bossa Mia (This Is My Bossa Nova). This CD features a new musical destination - Italy! Mário Adnet is once again involved. To read an interview with Lisa and more information about this CD, please click here.

And on her newest CDs Lisa continues to explore music from around the world. Dans Mon Ile (In My Island) was released July 16, 2003, and is a French-themed bossa nova CD. Joining her once again is the Brazilian composer and arranger Mário Adnet. Guest musicians include Pierre Barouh, Richard Galliano, and Henri Salvador, who also sings a duet with Lisa on "J'ai Vu." In the summer of 2004 Lisa released NAIMA-meu anjo, a collection of African and Arabic songs done in a bossa nova style. And in November 2004 Lisa released her newest CD Boas Festas 2 - Feliz Natal. On this CD Lisa returns to Brazil with an exceptional new "winter bossa" collection of Chistmas songs in English and Portuguese recorded with three of Brazil's top guitarists - Toninho Horta, Oscar Castro-Neves, and Romero Lubambo. (We will have complete details about these CDs updated on this site soon.)
Lisa announced the birth of her second child (a boy) on October 7, 2004.

Lisa has performed with Tom Jobim and with João Donato in Brazil, in addition to other performances around the world. Appearances in Japan include concerts at the Blue Note Tokyo with Paulo and Daniel Jobim, Toninho Horta, and Emilo Santiago.
In addition to making guest appearances on other recordings, Lisa has also created music for television commecials in Japan
http://lisaono.homestead.com/