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Island Mele John Berger |
It is unlikely another Hawaiian album will be of more interest this year than this one by 96-year-old Bill Tapia. Tapia was playing ukulele during World War I, and that makes his work here a link to the popular Hawaiian music of almost a century ago. His voice is well-weathered, but enhances his laid-back renditions of "Mack the Knife" and "Hapa Haole Hula Girl." The vintage arrangements are done with support from the Essential Resophonics on guitar, steel guitar and acoustic bass. "Tropical Swing"
Bill Tapia
MOOnROOmTapia spent much of the last 60 years playing jazz guitar, and the album reflects that. Most of the songs are jazz standards and all beautifully interpreted. But it's the ukulele that's prominent here, and Tapia's playing is exquisite.
Of special note is his long-sought recording of the John Philip Sousa march, "Stars and Stripes Forever," made on a wire recorder back in 1935.
www.moonroomrecords.com
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"Mood Indigo"
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Memorable lyrical imagery and a rich potpourri of ska, jazz, reggae, hip-hop and hardcore punk makes Pimpbot's official debut album a success on all counts. The aggressive rhythms catch the ear first, but the group quickly displays its versatility. Every song is an original, and their stylistic diversity keeps the album from becoming predictable. "Vertical Lobster"
Pimpbot
Self-releasedAnd don't overlook the lyrics. While Pimpbot is far from the first band to sing about alcohol ("40 Patrol"), "Lotta Mercy" is probably the first song to mention "goat milk in my Cheerios"" "Burrito Song" may be about eating a frozen burrito and nothing more, but could there possibly be some double entendre involved when the lobster in the title song is said to taste like sashimi? Dare we ask?
Pimpbot celebrates the release of "Vertical Lobster" with a party at Wave Waikiki tomorrow night.
www.pimpbotmusic.com
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The Akamai Brain Collective consists of three former islanders now studying music in New England. Abe Lagrimas Jr. plays most of the instruments and handles the vocals, Randy Wong is the bassist and Eric Lagrimas is the engineer/ producer, but adds a few music tracks as well. All three write, and their work suggests that they grew up listening to Pure Heart, Audy Kimura, Martin Denny, Ohta-san, Daniel Ho and possibly Chopin as well. "Akamai Brain Collective"
Akamai Brain Collective
Pass Out"Bananas and Rice" opens this collection of eight "progressive island jams" with a breezy, jazz-lite instrumental. "Miles" is a wistful ballad reminiscent of Audy Kimura's work. "Last Days of Summer" showcases Abe as an ukulele virtuoso, while on "Cane Road Blues," he uses multitracking to play swinging jazz as a one-man combo.
There's well-crafted music of other genres here as well. The Akamai Brain Collective are true to their name.
www.akamaibraincollective.com
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See the Columnists section 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.
