By Kelly Price (City Weekend)
Updated: 2007-04-28 10:11

Traditional forms of music such as jazz have recently been given new energy thanks to the vitality of an emerging generation of young female artists. If the style of music known as bossa nova is Brazil's answer to jazz, then Lisa Ono could be considered bossa nova's answer to Norah Jones. Two years after Jones' Shanghai concert, Ono will romance the city in Fuxing Park as the kick off performance of three-day music festival 07' Jazzy Shanghai.

Born in Brazil and raised there for most of her childhood, Ono is what the Japanese call a kikokushijo, or returnee. When, at age 10, she moved with her parents back to their native Japan, Ono found herself in an unfamiliar world. This is part of what led her to become a songwriter and singer. "Growing up in countries half-way around the globe from my home country [Japan], I was able to see the world from many different angles," says Ono. "I've listened to music since I was born, and I have always felt that becoming a singer was my destiny."

Ono was drawn to bossa nova style because of her Brazilian roots. "I was born in Brazil and grew up listening to bossa nova," she says. "When I moved back to Japan, I was nostalgic for Brazil-its music and language–so at age 15, I started playing guitar and singing in Portuguese."

Bossa nova is a musical genre that grew out of the urban experience, making it ideal for Ono's new life in Japan, a densely populated country. "Bossa nova comes from the crowded areas of Rio de Janeiro and Ipanema. If you don't sing softly, you might disturb your neighbors. It's a music that you can enjoy quietly in urban areas," says Ono. Her own songwriting process is very similar. "Going about my daily life in the city, sometimes my emotional antenna will react to something, and a song comes out of it."
In Ono's more recent album, Jambalaya, she found inspiration in North America. "Jambalaya was an album inspired by listening to Norah Jones and being impressed with country music." When Ono makes her concert debut in Shanghai, local audiences will determine for themselves whether she is more soft samba, spicy jambalaya, twangy country, or something perfectly in between.

Lisa Ono Shanghai Concert
Date/Time: May 1 and May 2
Location: Fuxing Park, No.2 Gaolanlu
Ticket: RMB 180-880
Hotline: 021-62186507/62173055