Monday Michiru

Monday Michiru emerged among Japan's leading soul and R&B vocalists of the 1990s, her mixed nationality and worldly outlook setting her apart from fellow artists of the era. Viewed as an early innovator in Japanese club music, she was born in Tokyo in 1963 to pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and alto sax jazzman Charlie Mariano, though she grew up in the United States. She first retained her father's surname, experimented with the screen name Michiru Akiyoshi during the mid-'80s, and adopted her present professional identity when issuing her debut album, with Michiru functioning as her middle name.

Acting marked her initial path, and public recognition arrived via a prize at the 1987 Yokohama film festival for her role in Hikaru Onna. Attention turned to songwriting and performance by 1991, when she began appearing in intimate Tokyo jazz venues and delivered her first album, Mangetsu. Although sales stayed limited, the record drew notice within Tokyo's rising dance and acid jazz community, prompting collaborations on projects by Mondo Grosso, DJ Krush, Kyoto Jazz Massive, and United Future Organization and placing her in the vein of soul chanteuses such as Jhelisa and Cassandra Wilson.

Kitty Records signed her and she issued an album annually, among them 1994's Maiden Japan and 1995's Jazz Brat, which reflected a deepening of her approach. Funk remained central, yet she incorporated hip-hop, rap, jazz ballads, Latin, and rock while crafting lyrics that examined Japanese culture, particularly the position of women. She departed Kitty for Polydor in 1997, began writing and producing for other artists including Yoko Oginome and UA, and appeared occasionally as a DJ on the club circuit. Double Image is widely regarded as her strongest work. In 1999 she favored a spare acoustic aesthetic on Optimista after moving away from dense production. Family life led her to take a hiatus in 2001.