Category: Music

Singer Shari Lynn and her pianist companion Jim Howard launched a Saturday jazz format last year at the Hilton Hawaiian Village’s Paradise Lounge located in the hotel’s Rainbow Tower.

But all that jazz will come to an end this weekend, but appropriately, Shari (pictured below) and Jim will bring down the proverbial curtain this Saturday night (Jan. 27), since the hotel is changing to a Hawaiian format in the space in February.

In a town with many jazz stylists – vocalists and instrumentalists – but not enough jazz venues, it’s a shame. Hilton’s plan to resume Hawaiian music in the Paradise Lounge beginning February is not a bad tradeoff, since Waikiki hotels should offer island music, too. But the hotel doesn’t adequately promote the acts in this hide-away locale, so it’s rough going here.

The Paradise, clearly, is not so paradise-y, in that it is unabashedly a pass-through-corridor for visitors going to or coming from dinner. I’ve been there earlier when some walkers actually cross right in front of the performers. Further, the space has only a few seats where viewers can see the entertainers; two large pillars, which obviously help hold up the tower of hotel rooms, suggest that singers and listeners were not the intended tenants in the zone.

Word-of-mouth advertising – you know, the coconut wireless – has kept the club operational, with rotating jazz stylists like Ginai, Rachel Gonzales, Bruce Hamada, and  Tommy James on Saturday nights. Even vacationing warblers like Mary Gutzi has added credence and joy to the menu.

Jan Brenner has been the agent juggling the acts for gigs in the club for the past year. She’s looking for a possible jazz nook elsewhere. Meantime, Shari will set anchor at Medici’s at the Manoa  Marketplace, likely on March 2, with hopes of a once-a-month residency. Bassist John Kolivas will join Shari and Jim at Medici’s…

Pre-Grammy events at Kani Ka Pila Grille

Mahina Mele, a musical series from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (Jan. 25, 26 and 27) at Kani Ka Pila Grille at the Outrigger Reef Hotel, will be a preview of the forthcoming Grammy Week event in Los Angeles.

Ho’okena’s Horace Dudoit III, Glen H.K. Smith and Chris Kamaka, left, and Jeff Peterson, right.

The slate:

• Thursday, Kawika Kahiapo and Kainani Kahaunaele.
• Friday, Kahiau Lam Ho with Kala’e and Kalena Parish.
• Saturday, previous Grammy nominees Ho‘okena with Jeff Peterson.

Pruden celebration of life is set

That earlier-announced celebration of life event for the late actress, Jo Pruden (pictured right) will be held at 2 p.m. Feb. 18 at Manoa Valley Theatre. The beloved actress, often known as “The First Lady of Hawaii Theater,” died Jan. 10 at her Mililani home following a long illness. She was 84.

Her husband, Jip Pruden, is creating a commemorative T-shirt featuring a Corky Trinidad cartoon of Jo, with proceeds to be shared by MVT and TAG (The Actors Group), where Jo did most of her late-in-life acting and Readers Theatre performances…

Samson service will be private

According to folks in the know, the family of the late Kit Samson (pictured), the versatile and likeable leader of the Sound Advice group, indicate that the service will be small and private, restricted to family. It was unknown, if the service has already been held, or coming up shortly.

Samson , who was 89, led his show and dance combo for nearly a quarter of a century at the original Kahala Hilton, and helped put the posh resort on the map, the first outside of the traditional Waikiki tourism zone. His keyboard dynamics and low-profile personality, coupled with Danny Kaleikini starring at the next-door Hala Terrace, made for a dynamic combo.

His first gig was at the Waikiki Biltmore, run by his family, which was eventually developed into the Hyatt Regency Waikiki by Chris Hemmeter on  prime Waikiki real estate. Samson moved to the Kahala resort , which was to become the hub for vacationing notables and continues to attract celebrities now.

Because Samson and his Sound Advice were anchored in the Maile Lounge, which had to be accessed to get to the fabled Maile Restaurant, the music quickly became a passport and passageway to the restaurant. With his vast repertoire and  ability to recognize a “name” walking through the corridors, Samson commonly played a theme song associated with the star.

The Sound Advice originally featured  Anna Lea, who was  followed by Connie Kissinger, though numerous female vocalists had the privilege to chirp in  his spotlight.

Samson became fast friends with another poet of the piano, Roger Williams, of “Autumn Leaves” success, who visited Samson at his Kahala home and autographed Kit’s piano, and Burt Bacharach, the composer of numerous hit songs, who obliged to man the keyboards one night…

‘Lion’ again is king of the Broadway jungle

“The Lion King” is back where it used to be, ruling over the Broadway jungle. Missing from the Top Ten: “Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Eking in a slot: “& Juliet.”

Here’s the Top Ten grosses, for the week ending Jan. 21:

1 – “The Lion King,” $1,813 million.

2—“Hamilton,” $1,762 million.

3–“Wicked,” $1,695 million.

4—”Merrily We Roll Along,” $1,688 million.

5 –“MJ The Musical,” $1,436 million.

6—”Gutenberg! The Musical!,” $1,163 million.

7—”Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” $1,076 million.

8 – “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $1,074 million.

9—” Aladdin,” $1,051 million.

10—”& Juliet,” $974 million.

The full list of shows and grosses, courtesy The Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz …

Streetlight Cadence, the alt-rock band Hawaii adores, is brighter than ever with unparalleled artistic fervor. The expanded group of 10 — assembled in what was described as a reunion gig —  returned to Blue Note Hawaii Friday night (Nov. 3) delivering an astounding one-nighter, attracting a nearly full house which saw a stunning performance that ran for 2 hours and 10 minutes and even included a couple of hana hou treats. Whew!

Streetlight has been known for its busking on the sidewalks and its “Will Work for Food” motto to gain free meals and perhaps a couch for a night’s sleep.

Jonathan Franklin, on violin, and Jesse Shiroma, on accordion.

Well, the group –  currently a small trio – is led by Jonathan Franklin whose calls to former mates  to reunite succeeded. Franklin developed a production worthy of showrooms not sidewalks.

Ten take-aways from the one-nighter:

1 — Franklin is an indefatigable emcee. He is a genial host and a wonderful storyteller, and he plays an electric violin, often shelving the bow and plucking and strumming his instrument like an ukulele. How cool is that?

2 – The assembled instruments included the violin, along with two cellos, an accordion, two guitars, a bass, a drum, a banjo and a piano. Impressive!

3 – Two women – Clara Stegall on guitar and vocals and Maia Wolfe on cello – bring a rich warmth to the show. Hooray!

Usually a trio now, Streelight Cadence had 10 musicians for its first reunion show at Blue Note Hawaii. Pictured from left, Mariconda, Wolfe, Shiroma, Webb, Franklin, Stegall, Chai, Arashiro and Umamoto.

4 – The gents are all over the place: The players include Jesse Shiroma on accordion, Ben Chai on banjo, Brian Webb on cello, Chaz Umamoto on bass, Matt Mariconda on piano, and Evan Arashiro on drums. They jump, twirl, leap, demonstrating energy and mobility, and on one tune, two dudes – think they were Chai and Umamoto – were lying, back-to-back on the stage floor, and singing. Jiminy Cricket!

5 –Every tune delivered was an original, mostly composed by Franklin (with Stegall serving up one of her songs). There are no “covers” on the Streetlight jukebox!

6—However, a few songs are somewhat structurally repetitive, beginning with calm, and building up to a furious storm…but there’s no lack of communication and interplay when the troupers jam and get the juice flowing, with constant interplay, like partnering in cadence.

7—It’s not easy to categorize the Streetlighters’ music. Yes, primarily, alt-rockers, but flavored with a savory mix of folk, country, hard rock, and in one tune, rap. The mood is like a jam, a hootenanny, a contagious crossover of many genres of music.

8— Franklin opened up a window to his soul and heart; clearly, he’s had issues, which are resolved in a song, notably about his longtime conflict with a sister in Japan, reflected in an honest, revealing, and soulful apologetic letter of sorts, on “Learn to Love.” Sounded like a diary admission of making up to heal wounds.

9—The audience was a peculiar but homogenous mix of young, old, mostly locals; they are not always fully familiar to the Streetlight repertoire (me included) but they’re loyal and addictive to the party on stage, perhaps attracted to the  personalities, happily clapping along and offering an impromptu standing ovation at the end, and yes, howling “hana hou,” not fully satisfied with the earlier non-stop 2-hour-plus music fest. Geez!

10– With this kind of performance – pure, revealing, engaging – Blue Note ought to book the band again, which means Franklin will have to start convincing the ex-members to come back to Hawaii for a second annual reunion. Hana hou!

And that’s Show Biz. …

“A Robert Cazimero Christmas,” set for 7 p.m. Dec. 9 and 2 p.m. Dec. 10 at Leeward Community Theatre, will be themed “E Ho‘i I Ke Kumu,” which Cazimero describes as a “Return to the Source.”

The shows will bring him “back to the reason for the season,” referring to his halau fundraiser programs last season that were an astounding achievement and a crowd-pleaser. And as The Brothers Cazimero, with his late bro Roland Cazimero, Robert and his entourage always treasure the holiday season with annual staging of mele and hula to celebrate the joyous holiday season.

Clearly, Robert is a revered master of his craft and his career as a singer-musician-composer-kumu hula are unparalleled. His signature Hawaiian music and dance are legendary, as previously demonstrated in Lei Day spectacles and showcases from the prestigious Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Monarch Room, infrequent gigs at Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki resort, or the monthly Full Moon Concerts at Chef Chai’s bistro. But no doubt, Cazimero’s twinkle and jingle are especially radiant and luminous during the Christmas season.

As one who commands format and structure, Cazimero said, “I’ve decided the two halves as ‘Christmas Green’ and ‘Christmas White,’” which could refer to color and season, meaning tropical and green and wintery white.

“I’ve finished the script, and the show will be mine,” Cazimero said of ownership and originality, and he’ll corral his usual cast of vocalists, dancers, and musicians.

“My gents of HNKOL (Halau Na Kamalei O Likolehua) will sing, chant, drum, and dance, and I will have three ladies from the RDC (Royal Dance Company), Ka‘ohi Yojo Daniels, Noheahiwahiwa Stibbard and U`ilani T Lum. 

My band members will include Kaipo Hale,  Keala Chock and Richard Heirakuji.  My very special guest will be the lovely Kalena Delima Parrish. I think it’s going to be quite a show,” he boasted…

—————————————————–

“A Robert Cazimero Christmas”

What: A celebration of the holidays, in Hawaiian music and dance

When: At 7 p.m. Dec. 9 and 2 p.m. Dec. 10

Where: Leeward Community College Theatre

Tickets: $30 to $55, available at the Leeward box office at (808) 455-0385 or online https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=leecc

“Wille K: Lahaina Son”

”Willie K – Life on Stage 4,” the Emme’s Island Moments show containing the last interviews of the late island star, Willie Kahaiali‘i (pictued), will be revived with updated content and aired on Hawaii News Now as a Thanksgiving week special.

Playdates are 9 p.m. Nov. 19 on KHNL, 9 p.m. Nov. 20 and 7 p.m. Nov. 25. Emme Producer-host Emme Tomimgbang Burns has retitled the show, “Willie K: Lahaina Son,” with a new focus on Willie’s Lahaina roots, in light of the August wildfires that destroyed his Maui hometown. Willie’s siblings and extended family lost their homes, and almost their lives, fleeing from the disastrous blazes.

“Willie has been gone for five years, which is difficult to believe,” said Tomimbang Burns. “But he’s been on my mind since the fires. He would be heartbroken over the loss of life and belongings, but he would be the first to stage a concert or fundraiser to help those who need it most. Maybe we need be reminded of Willie’s beautiful fighting spirit at this time to encourage us all to keep going.”…

Broadway grosses for week ending Oct. 22

“Merrily We Roll Along” has rolled up to second place, in last week’s Broadway grosses. The Stephen Sondheim musical stars Daniel Radcliff (pictured), Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez.

The Top 10:

1 — “The Lion King,” $2,063 million.

2 –-“ Merrily We Roll Along,” $1,820 million.

3 –“Wicked,” $1,809 million.”

4 — “ Hamilton,” $1,801 million.

5 –“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” $1,710 million.

6 –“ MJ The Musical,” $1,577 million.

7 — “Aladdin,” $1,279 million.
8 –“Back to the Future: The Musical,” $1,257 million.

9 –“Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” $1,252 million.

10 –“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” $,194 million.

The full list of last week’s grosses, courtesy The Broadway League:

And that’s Show Biz. …

Since his splendid May Day concert last May at the Great Lawn of Bishop Museum – staged ‘neath that tented behemoth – Robert Cazimero, pictured below, has been enjoying a merry time, making good his wish and promise to share Lei Day beyond the reef.

Of course, the principal show had all the bells and whistles: the legendary kilohana presence of Cazimero, soprano Nina Keali‘iwahama and Olomana’s Jerry Santos. Cazimero’s Halau Na Kamalei O Lililehua, along with another guest halau, provided the syncopation and seduction of hula auwana and kahiko.

Following Oahu, Big Island audiences were treated to a performance May 13 at Kahilu Theatre, in Waimea, though with an abbreviated cast. It’s a longstanding tradition, to visit the Big Island, since The Brothers Cazimero “owned” May Day, since the era they delivered that May Day spectacle at the Waikiki Shell… where the tradition had its roots.

And this past week, Cazimero traveled to Japan to share that powerful cultural breeze of Hawaiian music, for hula-happy Nippon audiences, tapping soprano Keali‘iwahamana, pictured below right, and his “house band,” the singing, strumming, dancing trio of Keauhou (Zachary Lum, Nicholas Lum, and Jonah Solatorio)  not only to showcase the group’s instrumental and vocal energy, but also the hypnotic hula since the chums also dance with Cazimero’s halau.

The Keauhou presence, and participation in Lei Day, has bolstered the foundation as it now has planted seeds in new markets to set more Hawaiian roots beyond the islands. The Japanese, of course, adore Hawaiiana, and appreciate and eager to grow the “make a lei, wear a lei and give a lei” tradition. And with Zach Lum and his colleagues at the core of the event, the future looks stable and bright, with a growing village of supports eager get this thing glowing.

Every day can lei day any time, any place, but the practice becomes powerful when the mele and marvel are connected to faces and names that translate to trust. …

Hugh Jackman’s ‘Oklahoma!’

Advisory for fans of Hugh Jackman: Before he became a superstar of film and stage, he played Curly in a filmed musical of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” in Australia.

By all accounts, this 1998 vehicle would become a talking point and casting barometer to propel book him toward a musical, on stage or on the big screen.

I first saw him in his Tony Award-winning role where he portrayed Peter Allen in “The Boy From Oz,” his first Broadway musical, but missed him in last year’s “The Music Man” where he enacted Professor Harold Hill.

We’ve all seen and heard him in the last film version of “Les Miserables,” where he was Jean Valjean, and of course, he was the reason “The Greatest Showman” became a blockbuster, the hit film where he played P.T. Barnum.

So back to “Oklahoma!”  The vintage film, with a young Jackman, will make a rare two-day global return, to mark the 80^th anniversary of “OK.”  In Honolulu, the screenings will be at 3 p.m. July 16 and at 7 p.m. July 19 at Consolidated’s Kahala Theatre, and Regal’s Dole Cannery and Pearl Highlands Theatres.

Tickets ($17.75 Kahala, $15.70 Regal) are already on sale online. Visit https://www.oklahomaincinemas.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw1MajBhAcEiwAagW9McrGH8StzCgwjTTdymD3UUWktat7hpQBQoh2krHYTV4BN7WdhWk4shoCUHMQAvD_BwE …

Earlier this month, President Biden hosted a special screening of the anticipated Disney+ original series, “American Born Chinese,” as part of the largest Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month key event at the White House.

A host of actors of color were on hand. The series, now streaming on Disney+, tracks an immigrant family that includes an American son, at the crossroads of the cultural struggles reflecting real-life issues with storybook fantasies about a new American identity fusing family bonding.

“Nights like these are a reminder of the power of stories,” said the president.Academy Award-winning actor Ke Huy Quan was one of the key participants in the screening; Maui native Destin Daniel Cretton, pictured right, who was executive producer and director of “American Born Chinese,” attended with many other on-camera and off-camera folks, like series stars Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Daniel Wu,  Jimmy Liu and Sydney Taylor, and creative team members including executive producer and author of the graphic novel Gene Luen Yang series creator and showrunner Kelvin Yu, and executive producers Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan and Erin O’Malley. Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Alex Aiono, stars of the Disney+’s filmed-in-Hawaii  series, “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,“ also attended. …

And that’s Show Biz. …