wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2008 : 01:51:20 AM
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This is Carol Yotsuda's newsletter for E Kanikapila Kakou on Kaua`i. As usual, she writes a most excellent and entertaining recap.
---------------- Sometimes an artist will pull aside that imperceptible veil that > separates the artist from the audience. When that happens the audience > turns into appreciators as they begin to grasp what goes on in the > mind and heart of the artist to be able to speak the language of music > so eloquently...and this is what happened at Monday's EKK. > > The great thing about Makana is that he really "gets" what EKK is all > about and he shared some very special songs with the participants. > "I really wanted to share something genuine with you tonight," he said > and indeed it was special. Picking the melody on the ukulele, > something that I had never seen Makana do before, he accompanied > himself on two extraordinarily beautiful new songs written with just > the kind of melody that shows off the purity of his voice. The first > song with the working title, "Shells", is about what is happening in > Hawai'i now. > > "Ku'ulei O Ka Po" (My Lei of the Night), written just the day before, > represented something very personal to Makana. Ever the philosopher, > he explained the lyrics, it's apparent meaning and its hidden meaning > and shared his very personal thoughts on what it means have a love of > the Hawaiian culture with its many layers of meanings and how > important it is to look for the common denominator rather than look > for the differences. What a gift for all present to hear a song just > coming into existence.... > > Makana Shares Gift of Music & Steve Pushes the Envelope > > Stephen Inglis, guitar Wonder Boy of Palolo led off the instrumental > hour for those with ukuleles and guitars. It was definitely not an > Ukulele 101 session as he was challenging all the instrument-toting > participants to play some very tricky stuff on their ukuleles and > guitars. Needless to say, they were loving it. > > Granted there are many beginners in the group, but there are also some > very fine performing musicians who have been coming for years, so they > really appreciated that Steve was pushing the envelope with them. > Steve later shared that he perked up when he thought he heard a > violin, and when he looked up at the circle, he was surprised and > pleased to see someone playing along on a violin...that was, of > course, Bill Dick. > > Born and raised in Honolulu, Stephen Inglis moved to the Bay area for > three years where he was very active in the rock/blues music circles > and labeled "Young Jerry" because he rips like Jerry Garcia. Meeting > and becoming fast friends with Makana, they influenced each other in > music with Makana exploring rock and Stephen embracing kiho'alu. > Homesick, Steve moved back to Hawaii, dove into the Hawaiian music > scene under the kiho'alu mentorship of Ozzie Kotani, and has grown > phenomenally in that genre. Last September, he opened for Makana at a > concert and this Monday they shared the stage at E Kanikapila Kakou. > > Together they demonstrated the difference between genuine kiho'alu and > standard guitar and traced the influence of Hawaiian kiho'alu music > and it's impact on modern American music. From the early invention of > the steel guitar by Joseph Kukupu, to the early blues singers, to the > hula stomp, Delta Blues, the Hawaiian swing, the hula blues, to the > early sixties when the kiho'alu was becoming a dyeing art form, to its > present resurgence in the world of music, notably the Grammy's. > > Steve sang several of his original compositions; one of them was > "Mahina O Wai'alae" (Full Moon on a Summer's Night), the cover song > for his CD written for his wife. Makana shared that it's important to > keep the music living by writing new Hawaiian music and Stephen is > doing a lot of that. We got a glimpse of Stephen's guitar virtuosity > when he played " '52 Vincent Black Lightning" by Richard Thompson. > Dang! He can really rip! The beat was so catchy and upbeat that > everyone had to join in clapping. > > Since his first unannounced but welcome surprise appearance at EKK in > 2003, Makana has presented at EKK for a number of years and also > presented several concerts through the Garden Island Arts Council. > No two concerts or presentations are ever alike and this Monday was > very special. New songs that he just composed were shared while > playing on an ukulele borrowed from Frank Frazier. In addition he > sang many of the favorite songs that have become his signature songs. > > "Ahe Lau Makani" about Queen Kapiolani's visit to Queen Victoria in > England is a beautiful song, and Makana's witty and humorous > translations about each song had everyone in stitches. Since I first > saw him perform as a teenager, Makana has come a long way in his > performance personality, but always genuine and refreshing. > > Makana shared the story about a traditional Portuguese lament brought > by immigrants from the Azores. Uncle Sonny Chillingworth, when he was > a youth, learned the song phonetically from the immigrants using a > bottle of whiskey (Hawaiian money) as barter. When the song was sung > for the Portuguese Heritage Council in Kalihi, they said it was > Portuguese gobbledygook. The song has since been translated line by > line into real meaningful lyrics; the resulting song is the poignant > version that Makana now sings entitled "Fado". > > "Napo'o Ka La" (Setting of the Sun) represents Makana's kiho'alu > journey where his life was touched and shaped by numerous mentors, > among which are Sonny Chillingworth, Cyril Pahinui, Bobby Morderow, > Raymond Kane and many more. > > Always wanting to inject some fun moments into his presentations, he > wanted to make the point that the kiho'alu masters really helped their > singing along with some good liquid refreshments. He tanked a green > bottle (green for St Patrick's Day) on the spot and proceeded to sing > "Hi'ilawe" ... "We have to do it the right way, " he said. > > Of course, no Makana performance is complete without his favorite song > "Ku'ulei Awapuhi" by Emily Taylor. Many artists sing that song, but > when Makana sings it, it becomes a memorable song...almost as if > the song were written for him to come along one day and sing it. > Unfortunately, the pumpkin hour arrived too soon; Makana and Steve > could not accommodate the stand ovation and screams for "hana hou". > > "Hawai'i Aloha" wraps the whole evening up, leaving the audience > feeling warm and fuzzy and very happy that they had enough smarts to > check out what EKK Monday is all about. Word of mouth is EKK's > biggest seller because everyone who attends EKK wants their friends to > experience it. We have only three more Mondays plus one concert to go > for this season. > > Upcoming in March and April: > > March 24 - Ozzie Kotani and Danny Carvalho; March 31 - Paul Togioka, > Dolly Kanekuni and Brent Eynon. > > April 7 - Aaron Sala, known as The New Traditionalist, will be our > last Monday EKK presenter. April 13 - EKK ends with a Finale Concert > at KCC PAC featuring Aaron Mahi, Dennis and David Kamakahi, Natalie > A’i Kamau’u with Iolani Kamau’u and Chad A’i, and the Ladies of Kapu > Kinimaka’s Na Hula O Kaohikukapulani. > > (s) Carol Kouchi Yotsuda, www.gardenislandarts.org -- “Celebrating 31 > years of bringing ARTS to the people and people to the ARTS” > > E Kanikapila Kakou 2008 -- EKK Silver Anniversary -- Hawaiian Music > Program is funded in part by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority, the County > of Kaua’i Office of Economic Development, and Garden Island Arts > Council supporters. Space made available by Island School. > > Garden Island Arts Council programs are supported in part by the State > Foundation on Culture and the Arts through appropriations from the > Legislature of Hawai’i and grants from the National Endowment for the > Arts.
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Me ke aloha Malama pono, Wanda |
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