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Island Mele
John Berger
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"Follow Me"
Manoa DNA (Roy Sakuma Productions RSCD 1282)
Although the name suggests evidence collected at a crime scene, Manoa DNA is in fact the trio of guitarist Lloyd Kawakami and his sons, Nick and Alex. With Hoku award-winning record producer Roy Sakuma as their producer/mentor, this acoustic-based group is off to a good start. Their debut album will certainly appeal to fans at their live gigs.
The best tracks are those that show what the trio can do as a self-contained unit. The guest artists who add percussion, bass, harmonica and guitar on various tracks, while providing depth, dilute the group's core sound.
Alex, the resident songwriter, comes up with interesting lyrical images but ignores the fundamental principles of rhythm, rhyme and meter. Four songs by more experienced lyricists display the value of these time-tested techniques, although some young listeners will relate to Alex's earnest stream-of-consciousness descriptions of love lost and found.
"No Frills"
Lyle Ritz (Flea Market Music FMM-1006)
Any new album by ukulele master Lyle Ritz is welcome. Ritz pioneered the development of the tenor uke as a mainstream jazz instrument with his first two studio albums almost 50 years ago (both are out of print and command premium prices on eBay). He recorded his third, "Time ...," at the request of Roy Sakuma in 1995. This, his fourth studio project, is no exception.
Ritz explores a pleasant assortment of jazz, pop and Latin melodies. Most are standards and all are beautifully interpreted. The clarity and precision of his technique is captured perfectly in what are essentially live performances. Ritz accompanies himself on bass, with no guests or electric add-ons, on this beautiful musical portrait of a master at work.
"Luau At The Hilton Hawaiian Village"
Danny Kaleikini (Mahalo MSCD 4004)
This "live" souvenir album dates from back in 1962 when Kaleikini was headlining a luau show at the renowned hotel. This reissue shows that Kaleikini was well on his way to iconic status as a Hawaiian showroom headliner even back then. But what the producers, Lewis Amiel and Bill Murata, were thinking when they put this package together is another matter entirely.
Why did the cover art show four tourists chowing down rather than the star of the show? And why was Kaleikini's name in such small print?
The recordings provide an edited look at what constituted entertainment at a tourist luau in the '60s. The first track is Kaleikini telling tourists how the pig is cooked. After that comes a hodgepodge of hapa-haole standards and hula numbers. Several of the musical arrangements are clearly representative of a bygone era in Waikiki entertainment, but Kaleikini does a fine job with the material. And although his name doesn't appear on the cover, two tracks showcase ukulele virtuoso Eddie Bush.
This is apparently the second reissue of this album. It has a second copyright date of 1985, 18 years after Kaleikini opened at the Kahala Hilton. The liner notes combine the florid text of the original '62 version with a partial but incomplete rewrite from 1985, and a little bit more as well. However, everything is written in the present tense, which shows sloppy editing work by whoever handled this reissue this year.
Mahalo Records - P.O. Box 1207 - Honolulu, HI 96807-1207
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. Reach John Berger at
jberger@starbulletin.com.