With an outstanding backing band consisting of Hawaiian music greats George Kuo, Martin Pahinui and Aaron Mahi, singers Nina Keali'iwahamana and Bill Kaiwa -- beloved musical icons in their own right -- are confident that tomorrow night's performance at the Honolulu Academy of Arts will be one to remember, even without the benefit of rehearsal time.
Nina Keali'iwahamana and
Bill Kaiwa lead a stellar band
tomorrow at the Art AcademyBy Shawn "Speedy" Lopes
slopes@starbulletin.com"We'll get in some standards, a few classics and just a potpourri of what everyone does best," affirmed Keali'iwahamana. "I'm sure it'll be a nice mix."
As the concert series' relaxed format allows for something of a light and breezy "backyard" atmosphere, Keali'iwahamana said the group's familiarity with island standards and its ability to draw from generations of Hawaiian music make practice time nearly a nonissue.
"But it really isn't winging it," she said. "I think we've all worked together so often that our repertoire within the group is pretty large, and we can get together and make wonderful music on the spot. What we'll do is sit down and draw from those hundreds of songs we all know and do, and basically put together a little of the old, a little of the new, a little of the contemporary and a little hapa-haole."
COURTESY OF HULA RECORDS
Nina Keali'iwahamana will perform a medley of songs tomorrow night at the academy.
For those who enjoyed the coziness of previous "Na Mele O Hawai'i" shows, Keali'iwahamana promises more of the same, with perhaps a few surprises to boot.
"We might just arrive on the scene and say, 'OK, what songs are we going to do?' We've worked together so often that it's just a matter of calling out a song, a key and playing it."
"For this show, lucky if we need only 20 minutes (of rehearsal)," added Kaiwa with a chuckle. "Martin Pahinui will probably sing some, Aaron Mahi will probably sing some and I know George will sing, too. We'll probably do about four or five songs apiece and maybe two duets. Maybe more."
Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning slack-key guitarist George Kuo brings decades of experience to the show, as does guitarist-vocalist Martin Pahinui of the revered Pahinui family and Aaron Mahi, Royal Hawaiian Band bandmaster since 1981, who will play bass. Keali'iwahamana and Kaiwa, who have collaborated often since the 1960s, bring their own personalities to the group's immense repertoire.
STAR-BULLETIN / 2002
Bill Kaiwa
"We go way, way, way, way back," she said, with a joyful, hearty laugh. "We've done an album together and many, many shows together. Bill Kaiwa is wonderful in his way of singing the old Hawaiian standards."
Kaiwa is equally complimentary of his longtime singing partner, whose musically gifted family he considers as close as his own.
"She's such a great singer. She makes you look good onstage because when you sing a duet with her, she makes sure that you push those notes out. She really gives you inspiration to put that powerful mana in your voice, and you get that mana'o and that feeling when you sing that song."
For a performance such as this, a song list is never set in stone, he said, although there are a few treasured classics he may feel compelled to perform come show time.
"My home island is Kauai, so I'll probably sing a few songs from that island," Kaiwa said. "Maybe Dennis Kamakahi's 'Koke'e,' 'Nani Kaua'i' and probably 'Ahi Wela' for the old-timers. Our crowd is mostly the old-time kamaaina people who come because we sing the old music, the songs that they like."
Featuring Bill Kaiwa, Nina Keali'iwahamana, George Kuo, Martin Pahinui and Aaron Mahi Na Mele O Hawai'i
Where: Doris Duke at the Academy, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 900 S. Beretania St.
When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow
Tickets: $18 general, $15 academy members
Call: 532-8788 or 532-8700
Click for online
calendars and events.
