Get intimate with Ono

Beijing audiences have another chance to catch bossa nova star Lisa Ono. Ten months after her debut performance in the capital, she returns today to give her Beijing performance of Lisa Ono Winter Bossa Tour 2009 China.

While her last concert was held at Beijing Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium (with a capacity of 7,000 people), she has chosen Beizhan Theater as the venue for her second concert in Beijing, which holds 2,000.

"This time I wanted a more intimate atmosphere and enjoy the moment with them," Ono explains. "Maybe the best way to listen to bossa nova is to sit close to the performer. But even though my last concert was in a big venue, I felt very united with the audience and didn't feel the distance that much."

Considered to be one of the brightest bossa nova stars today, the award-winning singer-guitarist will play with a four-piece ensemble, which consists of Febian Reza Pane on piano, Hitomi Yamakami on flute and saxophone, Tomokazu Sugimoto on bass, and Satoshi Ishikawa on drums. Twenty six of her timeless classics, such as Girl From Ipanema, will be performed in a show that is part of worldwide celebrations to mark 50 years of bossa nova.

Meanwhile, songs from her latest two albums, Cheek to Cheek and Look to the Rainbow, which defined Ono's interpretation of Rio-style and classic American jazz, will be included.

"I would like to sing some of the world's classic bossa nova standards and since it's almost Christmas I would also like to sing some Christmas songs too," she says. During her last concert in Beijing, Ono performed two Chinese songs, and no doubt her fans will be expecting more of the same.

Ono was born in 1962 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and spent her formative years in South America before returning to her native Japan. The experience resulted in a lifelong love of Brazilian music, especially bossa nova, the blend of samba, jazz and poetry marked by distinctive guitar rhythms.

The gifted musician began her career at 15, and is one of the few Asians to have worked with Antonio Carlos Jobim, a Grammy Award-winning Brazilian musician and a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style. She is known as the best Japanese interpreter of contemporary bossa nova and has released 12 albums.

In recent years, many Chinese singers have released bossa nova-styled records, including Cheer Chen, and Joanna Wang Ruo-lin. Eric Lee's When Bossa Nova Meets Erhu is also innovative and intriguing.

Fans say that picking up a bossa nova album is a perfect way to beat the stress and strains of everyday life. For Ono, it is the same. "To me, singing was always something very natural. I also feel relaxed when I sing bossa nova. When I hear how the audiences feel when they listen to me singing, it always gives me energy," she says.

"The winter of Beijing is much colder than Tokyo, but the audiences are very warm," she recalls of her last visit. "I was surprised and felt very happy when I saw the audiences waving penlights and cheering for me. It looked beautiful from the stage."

After singing for more than 20 years, Ono says that she feels nothing has changed despite all she has achieved. "I was blessed to be able to keep singing in this great environment, and I appreciate that. I want to keep on singing, and spread the charm of bossa nova to more people," she says.

7:30 pm, tonight. 180-1,280 yuan. Beizhan Theater, 135 Xizhimen Waidajie. 400-810-3721, 6417-0058, 6417-0068

北展剧场，西直门外大街135号.