Monday Michiru is one of Japan's finest soul and R&B singers of the
1990's whose cosmopolitan sensibility have made her stand out among
her contemporaries.

Born in Tokyo to pianist and bandleader Toshiko Akiyoshi and alto sax
jazzman Charlie Mariano, she was raised in the United States. Michiru
started out as an actress, but in 1991 her artistic interest shifted
to composing music and performing, appearing in small Tokyo jazz
clubs and releasing her first album "Mangetsu," which brought her to
the attention of Tokyo's burgeoning dance and acid jazz scene.

Soon she was appearing on records by Mondo Grosso, DJ Krush, Kyoto
Jazz Massive, and United Future Organization. She started releasing
an album a year, including 1994's "Maiden Japan" and 1995's "Jazz
Brat," in which Michiru's style dabbles with hip-hop, rap, jazz
ballads, Latin, and rock with lyrics that are often probing
examinations of culture in Japan, especially as it pertains to women.
Her album "Double Image" (1999) is considered by many to be her
finest works while on "Optimista" (1999) she abandoned the heavy
production for a stripped-down acoustic sound. She has since released
three more albums: "Premiumix" (1999), "4 Seasons" (2001),
and "Episodes in Color" (2002).

Full name: Monday Michiru Mariano
Born: August 19, 1963
Blood Type: AB
Mother: Toshiko Akiyoshi (秋吉敏子)
Father: Charlie Mariano
Nationality: American and Japanese
Occupation: Musician, songwriter, producer
http://www.jahsonic.com/MondayMichiru.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-
/2IQIT6PG7YE9A/002-6671998-1235257

Born and raised in the United States.
Moved to Japan in 1987.
Her parents were both famous jazz musicians.

As an actress, she sometimes used the name Michiru Akiyoshi - this
was not her choice, but rather the producer's attempt to make her
seem more Japanese.

Monday is blood type AB - according to the book You Are Your Blood
Type by Toshitaka Nomi, this means that she is a natural leader, a
great organizer, diplomatic, rational and imaginative.

Michiru recently gave birth to a daughter (I believe, correct me if
I'm wrong). You can find pictures/info in her newer albums

Born Michiru Mariano, Monday is the daughter of esteemed jazz
musicians Toshiko Akiyoshi and Charlie Mariano (her stepfather is the
excellent reedman Lew Tabackin). She grew up in the United States,
and even had a cameo appearance as a vocalist at age 12 on one of her
mother's albums 'Insights', plus she turns up in an early-1980s video
documentary about Toshiko 'Jazz is My Native Language'.

However, it wasn't until after Monday moved to Japan that she began
to find a unique musical perspective of her own. She took a career
risk and hooked up with Japan's underrated acid-jazz scene.

Her hard-to-find 1991 debut album `Mangetsu' is an ambitious mixture
of styles, sounding influenced by Kate Bush one moment while
confidently rapping over a funky DJ Krush track the next.

1,000 DREAMS is an outstanding acoustic jazz ballad in which Monday
is backed by her mother and step-father.

Soon these influences began to flow together into a more
individualistic entity. By 1994, Monday was collaborating with the
likes of Shinichi Osawa from Mondo Grosso, who was a prominent figure
on Japan's acid-jazz scene. She is heard most prominently on the
group's `European Expedition' CD and DVD, and also has significant
exposure on 'Mg4'.

However, it was on her solo albums that her talents reached their
fullest potential. On the surface, 1994's 'Maiden Japan' seems to
reflect the sound of hip-hop and acid-jazz, with scratching, samples,
and some jazz on top.

Yet Monday's assertive musical personality elevates the music into
something special. Her vocals are smooth and emotive, while her
songwriting is full of substance (both in the lyrics and in the
captivating melodies).

She can rap with the best of them (BLACK & WHITE), yet she avoids
standard hip-hop themes in favor of a critique of elements of
contemporary Japanese society...as much Gil Scott-Heron as Queen
Latifah.

Yet it is Monday's singing that dominates the album. The following
album 'Jazz Brat' was an even greater aesthetic success, retaining a
edgy curiosity about contemporary pop-culture musical idioms while
finding a jazz-oriented context for them. Latin elements also
surface, ones which would become more prominent several albums later.

Two albums of remixes and non-album tracks from the above two
respective albums ('Groovement' and 'Adoption Agency') will also be
of interest for fans, although I recommend that newcomers start with
the original albums.

With 1996's 'Delicious Poison' Monday keeps the flavor of her last
recordings while moving boldly toward live instrumentation. In
effect, the album is a Monday Michiru/Mondo Grosso collaboration.

Amazingly, even though this is her third album in three years, the
level of songwriting seems to be getting stronger...her well of song
material seems to replenish promptly.

It is Monday's prolific creativity that enable her albums to retain
their interest even after dozens of hearings. Her consistently
provocative musical vision takes her outside of your standard acid-
jazz fare. Even such renowned groups as Sade, The Brand New Heavies
and yes, even Mondo Grosso can't quite compare. Over thenext year
Monday switched labels to Polydor.

Her previous label Kitty issued a fine anthology (`Look Into The
Past, 1991-1997') which is currently out-of-print. Monday started off
with her new label by issuing `Mermaid,' a mini-album highlighted by
a hit single in Japan (FAR TO GO) and a unique drums-n-bass flavored
take on Minnie Riperton's LOVIN' YOU. The more ambitious full-length
CD 'Double Image' soon followed.

Overall, the themes seemed a bit more introspective than usual, yet
probably her most effervescent tune YOU MAKE ME was also included.
Although still working with the likes of Shinichi Osawa and DJ Krush,
Monday was discovering new talents as well...not to mention utilizing
yet another parent (her dad Charlie Mariano adds some outstandingly
deep saxophone to CRUEL 2 BE KIND).

The remix collection 'Premivmix' veers all over the map, from an
acoustic live track to a remarkable pair of Incognito YELLOW BIRD
remixes that surpasses even the original version.

Basement Jaxx also rework one track, and Monday repaid the favor by
singing ALWAYS BE THERE on their debut CD 'Remedy'. As with Miles
Davis, Monday Michiru's carrer seems to be in the process of
developing different periods.

In 1999, Monday lessened her reliance on studio technology and headed
into a largely acoustic, Latin-based sound for `Optimista,' Again,
Monday came up with a fresh batch of memorable tunes, including one
of my favorites, the spiritually uplifting PLAY IT BY EAR. Shinichi
Osawa returned to provide an outstanding remix on 'Tomorrows
Sunrise', but in general Monday was working with a new set of
musicians.

The album was a hit in Japan, selling over 100,000 copies. In the
year 2000 Monday issued four singles to coincide with each of the
four seasons of the year.

I recommend that potential buyers skip the individual singles and opt
for the two-disc set '4 Seasons', a remarkably diverse collection
that includes all vocal tracks from the four singles, plus other new
tracks and remixes.

Note that if you're not impressed with my description of Monday's
earlier music (specifically her attempts to place a jazz perspective
into the eye of the popular culture hurricane), you may find `4
Seasons' more to your liking, with a mostly acoustic-oriented yet
still eclectic jazz sound maintained throughout. Even so, several of
the remixes would fit right in with her last musical period.

In 2001 Monday appeared to put her career on hold to start a family.

To plug the gap, Polydor issued two anthologies that nicely
complement each other: 'Selections 1997-2000' and 'Recollections'.
The former mainly contains tracks from `Optimista' and `4 Seasons,'
while the latter focuses on non-album cuts and remixes (making the
latter a preferred option for those who plan to pick up the
individual albums).

Perhaps the best compliment one can make about an artist is that you
don't know what is coming up next...and at the same time it's
difficult to patiently wait for whatever that next step will be. By
the way, if you like Monday Michiru I recommend the Japanese singer
Bird ('Bird', 'Mind Travel', and the live album 'Live Tour 2000 (+1
Bonus Track)').

Although Monday sings in English and Bird's music is in Japanese,
their musical approach has a lot in common, not the least of which is
the presence of Shinichi Osawa.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.jazzdimensions.de/interviews/the_world/2000/monday_michiru_
e.html
Monday Michiru
A small, beautiful woman with endless power
http://www.jazzdimensions.de/interviews/the_world/2000/monday_michiru_
e.html
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Monday_Michiru
http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/people/ohkura/ENGLISH/monday.html

Monday Michiru has worked as an actress, as a journalist and as a
radio-DJ, but she never forgot her aim in life: Singing and
developing as a singer and as a human being. Her newest CD, published
by Universal Records at the beginning of the new century, is
called "Optimista". And optimism now is one of the things she wants
to give to her audience. Her music is a mixture of jazz, funk, latin
and dancefloor music.

Monday Michiru grew up in the United States but lives and works in
Japan today. There she has found countless friends and partners to
work with - and: Tokio is a town which, with its modern way of life,
in some way reflects Michiruīs own music - it is 'the music of her
generation'.

Before her concert at the A-Trane (Berlin) Carina Prange talked to
this woman, who behaves so natural and talks so honestly about
herself. The interview left a strong impression of the person Monday
Michiru, which did not diminish after the concert, which -
unfortunately - was not nearly so good as the newest CD promised ...

What do you want to express with the booklet of your newest CD? - Is
there something to say about the photos on the CD-cover ?

Monday Michiru: Oh, that one was taken in Westchester, which is upper
state New York. Itīs about one hour and a half from Manhattan. I had
just returned from there - we pretty much finished all of the
recordings, except for one song. I lost my voice - I couldnīt sing
that one. But except from this, everything was done.
I had already decided on the title "Optimista" because the concept to
the album was "Latin Music" and was about hope, optimism and
happiness, sunshine. Just all these positive things! I wanted
something that would reflect this, so I told the photographer and the
art-director: 'Hey, thatīs what I think the cover should look like!'

How important is it for you that your music is danceable?

Monday: Itīs not that important to me, to be honest. For me, I love
rhythm - and in that sense, rhythm is very important to me. There are
a lot of rhythmical songs on the CD. I use to sit when I listen to
it. I donīt have to stand up and dance, but I could stand up and
dance to it - if I wanted to. So if people want to dance to it, that
is great. But it is not that important to me.

Monday Michiru - these are both your first names?

Monday: Yes, Monday is my first name and Michiru is my middle-name.
My last name is Mariano.

But - as an actress - you sometimes used Monday Akiyoshi - is that
right?

Monday: 'Michiru Akiyoshi' to be exact. It was not my idea. It was
the choice of the producer of the film that I first did. I fought it,
because I just wanted to go by 'Monday'. But in Japan, because I am a
mixed-race, you know - American and Japanese - sometimes the japanese
society glorifies people of mixed races real over, and it cheapens
their image sometimes. You know, it makes it like an entertainment.
And the film was so serious that the producer didnīt want to have
that cast on me.

Why do you live in Japan today and not in the United States?

Monday: As I said, the first opportunity for me to get into the music
field at all was through this film in Japan ("Hikaru Onna" -
'Luminous Woman' , 1987). And then once I got there and finally
scored my way into the music side of that, I realized that Japan was
a place, a country where I did not necessarily have to have
experience, only a great desire to do what I wanted to do. And that
desire for some reason manifested itself into projects.

Whereas in America, even if I have the desire, it is very hard to
manifest that into an actual project. Because you have to have
experience, you have to have a lot of connections. And I donīt know
what it is about Japan, but they are very willing to giving you the
opportunity - and still give me the opportunity to do what I want to
do, to experiment with a lot of my music and a lot of everything.

For example the journalism thing: I did this one project called: '
What is Jazz?' back in 1992 for a very interesting magazine. I
interviewed from Branford Marsalis to Chick Corea to John Lewis to
Gang Starr and many other people. About twenty-five different artists
and DJs and musicians and critics.

When I came up with the idea - really: If I came up with this idea
for a magazine in America, they would look at me like: "You want to
do what? Take our pages and do what!? 'What is Jazz?' Who cares?"
And in Japan, this magazine - great magazine! - went like: "Oh, letīs
do it!". I got a month and a half to spend on this project. And got
paid for it, which is great. I mean I could spend a lot of time on
it, as a learning experience for me: 'I can do that, I can come up
with a project, a project that interests me!'

And somehow to be able to get somebody to back it up: It was so
great! And that just feeds my desire to keep living in a 'neat'
direction.

And do you feel more like an American or a Japanese?

Monday: Both! I definitely have elements of both, that seems equally
shared. America is very difficult in a way. I donīt want to sit here
and say there is huge prejudices because I am an Asian or whatever!
But unfortunately people do look at me as an Asian. The kind of music
that I do in a lot of ways reflects what you call black music.
However, in America there is something like a stigma about people
that are not black doing black music, and this makes it just very,
very difficult. Things in America are very set in terms of genres -
they react less tolerant towards fusions of different types of music
compared to Europe or Japan.

--------------

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/jazz/reviews/michiru_seasons.shtml
Monday Michiru
4 Seasons
(Emarcy)

The instrumental intro that starts 4 Seasons sets the tone for the
next 72 minutes with melodic jazzy piano, and an underlying Afro-
Cuban rhythm. If smoove dinner jazz is not your style then you may as
well hit the stop button now.

If you should choose to continue however, you will be rewarded with
the rich vocals of Japanese acid jazzer Monday Michiru (the daughter
of pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and American saxophonist Charlie
Mariano). Her wide and wavering vocal range, alternating between
gutsy and saccharine sweet, is well suited to this strain of jazz.

It also works well on the crossover r'n'b track "Do It Again", which
is reminiscent of vocalists such as Carleen Anderson.

All the tracks are penned by Michiru. Some listeners may find the
lyrics inspirational, being in the vein of Desree's hugely
successful "You Gotta Be". Others may find lines such as "when you
look around you, you will find what a wonderful world we live in"
rather trite, in which case I'd advise you to let them wash over you
and focus on the soothing quality of her voice instead.

The album is arranged and produced by Michiru and her husband
Alexander Sipiagin who also plays trumpet on many of the tracks. The
sound is tight, polished and overall very slick, right down to the
backing vocalists (you can just visualise them clicking their fingers
to the beat with wide smiles on their immaculately groomed faces).

There's an interesting mix of influences entwined into the music,
which mainly manifest themselves through the percussion. At times
this sounds very African (bordering on the tribal) but on other
tracks the flavour is distinctly more Afro-Cuban. These different
rhythmic approaches give the music a welcome edge but can
occasionally be distracting and seem out of kilter with the lyrics.

4 Seasons would fit well into the mood category of your CD
collection, being the perfect soundtrack for kicking back and
relaxing. Slip into something more comfortable, pour a long cold
drink and enjoy!

Reviewer: Niky Daley

============

http://www.hatsuyume.net/users/maiden/life.htm

Full name: Monday Michiru Mariano
In Japanese: Monday 満ちる
Born: August 19, 1963
Blood Type: AB
Mother: Toshiko Akiyoshi (秋吉敏子)
Father: Charlie Mariano
Stepfather: Lew Tabackin
Husband: Alex Sipiaguine
Nationality: American and Japanese
Occupation: Musician, songwriter, producer

** Born and raised in the United States.

** Moved to Japan in 1987.

** Her parents were both famous jazz musicians, and her stepfather
and husband are also musicians.

** Monday's first musical recording was on her mother's
album "Insights" at age 12.

** Monday can be seen in an early 1980's documentary about her mother
entitled "Jazz Is My Native Language."

** As an actress, she sometimes used the name Michiru Ak this was not
her choice, but rather the producer's attempt to make her seem more
Japanese.

** Monday is blood type AB - according to the book You Are Your Blood
Type by Toshitaka Nomi, this means that she is a natural leader, a
great organizer, diplomatic, rational and imaginative.

** Michiru recently gave birth to a daughter. You can find
pictures/info in her newer albums.