As Mondo Grosso, the Japanese producer Shinichi Osawa has worked both solo and alongside an array of vocalists such as Monday Michiru, N'dea Davenport, and Tania Maria, crafting some of the most refined acid jazz, house, and R&B to emerge from his homeland throughout the 1990s. A native of Sakura Hills born in 1967, he first entered the studio in 1989 and issued his initial Mondo Grosso recordings between 1992 and 1993, among them the self-titled debut album on the For Life label. Its worldwide sonic palette, shaped by American disco and R&B, British acid jazz, and Brazilian samba, positioned Osawa at the forefront of a sophisticated wave of Japanese dance music that also featured United Future Organization and Pizzicato 5. Several compilation licenses propelled the track “Souffles H” into Western clubs, after which the follow-up album Born Free appeared in 1995 and featured vocal contributions from Monday Michiru and Jhelisa.
In response to the somewhat synthetic tone of Born Free, Osawa recruited live players for the 1997 release Closer, among them Salsoul Orchestra mainstay Vince Montana Jr., guitarist Chuck Loeb, keyboardist James Preston, and the East 4th Horns. He simultaneously launched his own imprint, For Real records, which put out material by the Japanese singer Bird as well as the fourth Mondo Grosso album, MG4. Osawa also issued the solo mix collection Sakura Hills Disco 3000 on the same label.
