is a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

actress, singer, and songwriter whose music encompasses and fuses a wide variety of genres including jazz,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, and soul. She is arguably best known for being a pioneer of the acid jazz movement in Japan in the early 1990s yet she has created her own unique style of music that transcends traditional definitions of the aforementioned genres. Monday was born in Tokyo,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, to jazz pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi and her then husband, jazz saxophonist Charlie Mariano. At an early age, she expressed an interest in music; she studied modern dance and ballet from age eight, and the classical flute for eight years. It was not until she went to the Interlochen Arts Academy that she discovered her true passion of singing. In 1987, Monday appeared as a lead in the movie ''Hikaru Onna'' (''Luminous Woman'') in which she was credited as Michiru Akiyoshi. Monday's unintentional acting career took off as she won Best New Actress awards from Kinema Junpo, The Japan Academy, and the

Yokohama Film Festival The is an annual awards ceremony held in Yokohama, Japan. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year and various awards are given to personnel. The first festival, held on February 3, 1980, was a small affair by fans and film critics. In 1994, ...

. With all this success, Monday became somewhat of a celebrity and could be seen on commercial ads and as a "personality" on several major television networks. In 1991, she re-focused her interests and released her debut solo album ''Mangetsu''. Although she continued her solo work, she became a featured singer/songwriter for many other groups and artists including

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first rose to popularity in the underground house scene ...

(''Always Be There''),

Mondo Grosso , also known by his stage name Mondo Grosso, is a Japanese musician, DJ, record producer and composer currently signed onto Avex Trax's Rhythm Zone label. Previously he was signed to Sony Music Japan's FEARLESS RECORDS division and released album ...

, DJ Krush, M-Flo and numerous others. Since her debut, she has released numerous albums on an annual basis, including many compilations and remix projects, and numerous singles. Monday now lives in New York City. She is known in the music industry for releasing ''You Make Me'' as it was also released in Konami's beatmania and Dance Dance Revolution. It gained moderate airplay and has been a favorite easy listening song with its smooth jazz

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

Discography

References

External links

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Monday Michiru
interview at All About Jazz {{DEFAULTSORT:Michiru, Monday 1963 births Living people American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters American people of Italian descent Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni American women musicians of Japanese descent People from Tokyo Japanese emigrants to the United States American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women ArtistShare artists Pony Canyon artists Universal Music Group artists