Island Mele
John Berger
The influence of the Brothers Cazimero is unmistakable on this debut album by William "Baba" Alimoot and Chris Kamaka. Both men are Hoku Award winners -- Alimoot as the co-producer of other Hula Records albums, and Kamaka as a member of Kealohi and Ho'okena. In short, there's plenty of talent and experience here, and fans of Hawaiian music will welcome the sounds of Hema Pa'a. "Two Voices, One Heart"
Hema Pa'a
Hula RecordsThe Cazimero connection becomes noticeable several songs into the album. While their take on the opening "Catching a Wave" is completely their own, from "Hawaiian Paradise" and "Wahine 'Ilikea" onward, the interplay between their voices, Alimoot's guitar and Kamaka's acoustic bass is in the Cazimero style, more often than not.
Informative annotation, song lyrics and translations all make this a great reference as well as great listening. The generic synthesized strings are the album's only flaw.
www.HawaiiCalls.com
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Catching A Wave
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Dennis Pavao had been recognized as a great falsetto talent during his years in Hui 'Ohana with his twin cousins, Nedward and Ledward Kaapana, but this album established him as a solo star in 1986 and made him a Na Hoku Hanohano award winner the following year. "Ka Leo Ki'eki'e"
Dennis Pavao
Poki RecordsThe album is a great musical portrait of Pavao. He included some of his favorite Hawaiian standards, some that showed off his range as a vocalist and one of his first originals, the political "Ua Mau Ke Ea O Ka 'Aina I Ka Pono."
Pavao was planning his sixth solo album at the time of his death in January 2002. This CD re-release, which includes the Honolulu Skylark's original Hoku-winning liner notes and updated information as well, is a fine memorial to Pavao. It belongs in every collection of Hawaiian music.
www.tropicalmusic.com
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Justin Young made an impressive debut in 1996, quickly proved himself more than just a flavor-of-the month teen act and became possibly Neos Production's biggest and most versatile artist. "Postcard"
Justin Young
Neos ProductionBilled at times simply as Justin, he established himself as a prolific writer and multitalented studio musician. It seemed for a while that he was mired in enervated synth-based local pop, languorous Top 40 remakes and Jawaiian-lite material, but in recent years he's been moving into the more substantive organic sound heard here.
Young's personal message inside explains that "Postcard" is a mix of old songs and new. Two recall his musical partnership with Jon Yamasato. There are eight other originals and four relatively routine remakes. "Friend's Ex-Girlfriend," "Let Me Take Tonight" and a three-way reworking of "Perfect Peace," done with B.E.T. and Norm Thompson, are among the most interesting. All in all, it makes for a fine blend of music.
www.neosproductions.com
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See Record Reviews for some past reviews.
John Berger, who has covered the local
entertainment scene since 1972, writes reviews of recordings
produced by Hawaii artists. See the Star-Bulletin's Today
section on Fridays for the latest reviews. Contact John Berger at jberger@starbulletin.com.
