"I Ku Mau Mau"
I Ku Mau Mau
IKM
Do we care who's actually performing as long as the music is good? That's the question raised by this album recorded by a group of six, with support from nine guest singers, musicians and chanters. Without individual performance credits, there's no way to tell who did what, but the studio ohana does a fine job on a mixed bag of Hawaiian standards, new songs, and a bilingual version of "I Believe In You."
The album opens with a beautiful rendition of "Kaulana Na Pua," embellished with a chant, "I Ku Mau Mau." The liner notes explain that the medley is intended as "an anthem of unity for the Hawaiian people," and it succeeds in all respects. Guest vocalist Herb Mahelona added the new songs. Two of them, "E Ola Mau 'O Mo'omomi" and "No Ka Beauty o Honokohau," co-written with lyricist S. Mailelauli'i Naki, speak of the past while also perpetuating traditional music.
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"The Finer Things"
Herb Ohta and Jim Beloff
Flea Market Music
Ukulele virtuoso Herb "Ohta-san" Ohta has recorded pop hits and classical melodies alike over the years and is certainly better known as a musician and arranger than as a composer. Jim Beloff's new project with Ohta reverses those roles with 16 Ohta compositions performed for the most part by other artists. Beloff wrote lyrics and came up with the titles. Beloff admits to being partial to the work of Sammy Cahn and Johnny Mercer, and "The Finer Things" will likely be of greater interest to pop music fans than to hardcore uke buffs, even though Ohta sits in on four songs and Lyle Ritz plays on four others.
Beloff and longtime Ohta sideman Bruce Hamada are two of nine participating vocalists. Ritz also plays bass and Los Angeles' Hal Blaine is on drums. This isn't a conventional Ohta-san album, but if you're in the mood for pop, "The Finer Things" won't disappoint.
www.orangetreeproductions.com
"Tita Out!"
Kathy Collins
Rip Tide
The title brings to mind an old Frank DeLima sketch, but Kathy Collins' style and repertoire is much closer to the work of James Grant Benton and Glen Grant than to DeLima. Several of the stories she shares are spooky old island tales of the type popularized in recent years by Grant, and she tells them in a heavy stage-pidgin reminiscent of Benton and flavored with Benton-style wit.
Collins also shows her skill as a more conventional standup comic, with a harangue about travel writers who reveal the location of little-known scenic spots. She also has two words of advice for tourists who hold up traffic by driving slowly on two-lane highways -- "Pull OVAH!" In another sketch, she considers the different meanings and pronunciations of the word "tita."
A guest number by Willie K reaffirms his comedic talent as well.
www.riptiderecords.net
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.
