After making her Australian debut last year, Japanese-Brazilian bossa nova queen Lisa Ono returns for her encore tour.
Lisa came to Australia for the first time last year as part of her 30th anniversary celebration tour, which is a long time to wait to get to hear one of the highest-acclaimed artists of her genre.
Australian audiences certainly weren't disappointed though, with Lisa earning rapturous acclaim from local listeners and critics alike. That should come as no surprise considering Lisa is one of the pre-eminent bossa nova practitioners in the world.
After the rousing success of her premiere here, Lisa returns this year for her 'Music Journey' tour giving audiences around the country another chance to witness one of the rarest gems in music today.
Lisa was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil where she lived until she was ten when her family moved to Tokyo. At 15 she began playing guitar and made her professional debut as a bossa nova singer in 1989.
Since releasing her debut album in 1989, Lisa has maintained a consistent, if not prolific, output of recorded material, having a produced an album nearly every year since 1989. Her discography boasts over 30 albums, the most recent being 2016's 'Dancing Bossa'.
Throughout her career, Lisa has also performed with many top musicians such as Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Donato, and has been performing enthusiastically in New York City and Brazil as well as Asian countries.
Between her breathtaking vocals, rhythmic guitar work and charming smile, Lisa has earned a global reputation and has bolstered the appeal of bossa nova in Japan where she holds a determined place in the jazz community.
In a 2014 interview with Simon Smith in That's Mag, Lisa Ono elucidates the popularity of bossa nova in Japan, a country seemingly disparate from the sounds of South American music.
“The delicate sound of bossa nova makes Japanese people very relaxed – well, not only the Japanese people, but especially them,” she says. “In this fast-going world, we all need to be relaxed.”
Through Lisa's relatively unique cross-cultural upbringing and her loving commitment to music, she has helped build a bridge between the countries she has called home.
With her extensive history and voluminous back catalogue, there's a lot for Australian audiences to look forward to on Lisa Ono's upcoming 'Music Journey' tour that will be stopping in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during September.
Lisa Ono 2019 Tour Dates
Tue 17 Sep - Adelaide Town HallThu 19 Sep - Sydney Opera House
Fri 20 Sep - Melbourne Arts Centre
Sun 22 Sep - Brisbane City Hall
