IT'S been almost 30 years since Jack de Mello released the first of four lushly produced albums by Emma Veary. This long-overdue, 25-song anthology makes the best of the best of those recordings available on compact disc for the first time.
It's beautiful. Classic And, with more than 66 minutes of music it's a bargain!
No modern island vocalist surpasses Veary as an interpreter of the music of the monarchy; the compositions of Kalakaua, Lili'uokalani and Leleiohoku are well represented and beautifully sung.
Veary's renditions of songs by several of Hawaii's greatest Territorial Era composers are breathtaking as well. Some - like "Waikiki" - are standards sung by many. Others - "Here In This Enchanted Place" and "I'll Remember You" - are generally associated with a particular performer. Veary makes each her own.
RUSSELL Mauga was a member of Ho'aikane back in the 1980s when the group was recording authentic Big Island slack-key for Ken Kahanu Post. He quit after the band changed record labels. Whatever his reasons for leaving, this belated solo debut shows it wasn't for lack of talent. Working with producer/arranger Alwyn Erub, Mauga has created one of the year's best contemporary Hawaiian albums. Lyrics and translations of the Hawaiian-language songs are all that's lacking.
Mauga sings beautifully in English and Hawaiian; his pop remakes have a commercial Carib-bean rhythm but he doesn't spoil them by affecting a Jamaican accent. He and Erub aren't quite offering fresh perspectives but display remarkable skill. Their updates of Bobby Vee's 1961 hit, "Take Good Care Of My Baby," and Solomon Burke's "Cry To Me" both merit radio play.
Erub keeps synthetics to a minimum; annoying sonic filler that defines most local pop recordings is almost absent. Mauga's voice and the textures of the live instruments are kept to the fore as they should be. Mauga is an artist to watch.
GRAVITY has a tenuous local link by virtue of Harold Payne's connection to Kalapana. The trio's second album is an appealing blend of rock, jazz, Caribbean rhythms, and "urban" music. The up-tempo "Don't Leave Home Without It," co-written by Payne and Bobby Womack, is a first-rate signature number for the trio - Payne, vocalist Clydene Jackson Edwards and percussionist Oliver C. Brown.
Edwards is a striking stylist; "Caribbean Nights" and "California Blues" are fine showcases for her. Several of the slower songs - "Love Can Conquer All" and "Dreams" are two - will be local karaoke bar favorites as soon as singers find the tracks. This group should be on the national charts.
OHE'O introduces itself as a local bar band with a repertoire ranging from "Ka Uluwehe O Ke Kai" to "Quando, Quando, Quando" to "Alone Again Naturally." Hapa-haole, pop standards, generic pseudo-reggae and two originals are all in there too.
"By My Side" by Eddie "Da Bass" Oishi is the most interesting by default. Every bar band needs a few slow songs; this is one to ask for. "Umi Wai Slack Key," by William "Da Ia" K. Panui Jr. and Ivan "Ki Ho Alu" Ho'opi'i, shows what Ohe'o can do. They too merit local airplay.
The album sounds like it was recorded live in-studio rather than one track at a time. That makes it noteworthy. Gordon "Thumpah" Alfapada and Glenn "Midi Man" Companion are the other group members.
PRODUCER Freddy Von Paraz follows his celebrity packed "'Ukulele Stylings #1" with recordings by musicians generally less well known.
Chookie Perez (of Nuuanu Brothers fame) maintains the all-instrumental format with his picking and scratching on "Backyard Jam." Sam Kapu Jr. introduces his rendition of "Crazy G" with a brief pidgin vignette.
Gordon Mark, Al Canopin and one-name artist Angela get two selections each; Von Paraz (percussion) and Harry Ladera (bass) provide background rhythms. Hoku Garza adds a second ukulele to Imua Garza's arrangement of "On Fire."
The artists acquit themselves well throughout. Imua Garza is 11; he doesn't sound like a kid!
Ukulele fans will love this album but with barely 27 minutes of music it is an expensive buy. A CD holds 70 minutes of music.