Aloha mai!Plenty of new Hawaiian music concerts to report for the month of December! Hope some of them are in your area. If you're looking for Christmas gifts for that Hawaiian music lover, you can search my prior twice-monthly pages for previews and some sound clips to help you select a great gift!
I was going to announce my pick of the year, but one of my music friends suggested that I wait until the end of the year, since the Na Hoku Hanohano deadline was pushed until then, to try to get a more representative group of CDs to choose from. So I am, but I'll make a couple of stocking stuffer suggestions ... The Kamehameha Schools wonderful double CD anthology, Na Mele Henoheno ... E O Mai by Keali'i Reichel ... Hawaiian Tradition by Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom ... Life in Parodies by the Mumus and the Pupus ... and Ken Emerson's Slack and Steel. Check 'em out for a friend ... or yourself! [g]
Keola Beamer's Hawaiian Treasure Chest has been unable to process credit card orders through their secure server for a while, but the problem has been fixed. Keola will also personally autograph your purchases if you wish. A great gift idea for the Hawaiian music fans on your gift list!
Ko'olau Ranch House on O'ahu's Windward side is serving up tasty local music along with its great dinners and lunches. Their December performance schedule -- including Puamana and Aunty Irmgard, and Darren Benitez, will appear at the end of the concert listings.
Recordings
"Uncle" Harry Koizumi, Celebrating Life Through Friends and Music (Uncle Harry Records UHCD 4882). This is a highly recommended sleeper. With a mundane title and a cover that looks like a sixties yearbook montage, this doesn't have a lot of eye appeal. But boy, what a lot of listening pleasure! Uncle Harry is an accomplishing ki ho'alu player who brings on guest artists to adorn his latest CD. The many instrumentals blend with the vocal numbers to create an outstanding blend of styles, smoothly handled. From the beautiful falsetto on "Lei Nani," to the supple and joyous "Hula Lady, from the crystalline "I Remember Love," to the funky "Patches," this is a well-done CD. I bought it. [g]
Various artists, Island of Dreams(Kahale Music Company KM 28001). This is a mixed bag of contemporary island music. It includes Na Hoku Pa's fast-paced falsetto "Na Ka Pueo," Brothers and Sisters' catchy, reggae-flavored "My Island Home," and the slick, close harmony of Na Waiho'olu'u o ke Anuenue's "Terima Pomare. There's also a funky instrumental by Led Ka'apana, "Nui Papa," and "Malia," a reggae version of the old Simon and Garfunkle tune, "Cecelia." Like any mixed bag, it's a ... mixed bag. [shrug]
The Kamalani Children's Chorus, Ho'olaua'e(Haku Mele Records 02-CS). This CD ostensibly features the children from the UH Hilo's Na Pua No'eau program (the UH at Hilo Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children), singing well-done renditions of songs like the "Sampan Song," "He Punahele No 'Oe," and "I Pa'a I Kona Makua" with piano, guitar, flute, and string accompaniment. However, there are a number of guest artists on the CD, and in those songs the children tend to be relegated to backup work. Too bad; the keiki do a nice job, and I wish that the producer had had a little more faith in the kids and cut down or eliminated the guest artists.
--Susan
susanj@lava.netLike Hawaiian music? Find out the latest concerts and releases on Susan's Hawaiian Music Page, now at:
http://www.nahenahe.net/susanmusic/current.html or
http://www.interpac.net/~nahenahe/susanmusic/current.html
Music Report Homepage &
Archives | NahenaheNet
Homepage
Interpacific
Networks