Aloha, Martin Denny

THIS ONE'S FOR MARTIN: Buddy Fo, far right, sang "South Sea Sadie" while his wife, Sammi, danced hula as their farewell gift to Martin Denny. Family and friends celebrated Denny's life at the Waikiki Elks Club Saturday. Denny's daughter, Christina Denny, seated far right, watched from the front row. The band for the event was made up of some of Denny's favorite musicians: Kit Ebersbach, keyboards, left; Lopaka Colon (percussion); Gabe Baltazar (clarinet and sax); Harold Chang (drums), behind Baltazar; and Steve Jones (bass). The band opened the show with "Quiet Village" with Colon providing the birdcalls and jungle noises, and also played "A Taste of Honey," another of Denny's hits.

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NOW THERE ARE ONLY TWO MUSKETEERS: Del Courtney, left, and Art Todd talked before the ceremony. Courtney and Todd had a standing lunch date with Denny each Wednesday when they would meet at his Hawaii Kai residence and talk music. They called themselves "the three musketeers." Todd, the youngest by a couple of years, got a kick out of being "the kid" of the group.

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"WELCOME TO DADDY'S PARTY": Christina Denny, center, greeted Sherri Kandell, left, and Shirley Recca shortly before the start of the formal program. Kandell and her husband, Lloyd Kandell, helped organize the event. Recca and her husband, Joe Recca, performed during the show.

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KEEPING A LOW PROFILE: Don Ho and Haumea Habenstreit stopped by unobtrusively. They watched from the back of the room while Al Waterson sang "To June, When Love Was Young." Denny wrote it years ago for his wife.

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"EXOTICA 2005": Lopaka Colon, left, and Lloyd Kandell took a break after Colon closed the formal program by playing "Tune for Rangoon" and "Similan" with several younger musicians. Kandell played guiro on "Similan." The black-velvet painting was a gift to Denny.

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John Berger has covered the local entertainment scene since 1972. Contact him at jberger@starbulletin.com.