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Down-to-earth
Norah Jones puts on
terrific performance

'I love Norah Jones," shouted a young man leaving Blaisdell Arena after the multi-Grammy winner's fabulous concert Saturday night. It's easy to fall for Norah, 26. Besides her incredible vocal and piano talent, she's a beauty who exudes warmth, friendliness and is totally down to earth. Her first album, "Come Away With Me," won eight Grammys and put her on top of the music world. But seeing her perform is so much better than just listening to her CDs. She sings at the piano, or standing in front of her solid band, or while dancing barefoot across the stage. She even tossed in a pretty good hula move or two Saturday. And she shares the spotlight. When she fronts the band singing and dancing, she moves to the side when a musician solos so he can shine. She also gets playful. For example, when a guy in the sold-out crowd gave out with a loud, sexy growl, Norah growled right back. She also pumped her fist on occasion. Besides praising her band and wahine backup singer, she heaped praise on her crew for their excellent work. Norah's for real! ...

An evening of fun and song from the days of Sammy Davis, Jr., starring Garry Moore as Sammy, has returned to Sheraton's Esprit Friday nights. Working with Garry are Al Waterson and Cameron Krainin, who sing the music of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ray Charles, Liza Minelli and Tony Bennett ... Suzanne Erler, former P.R. manager at the Kahala Mandarin, is now Suzanne Wicker of Seattle. She and husband, Daron, are expecting their first child, a boy, next month. Suzanne has her own firm, Envision Marketing and Communications ...

Maryknoll event with Jasmine draws 1,000

About 1,000 people attended the Maryknoll dinner called, "An Evening With Jasmine Trias," Sunday at the Hilton. Tom Moffatt was emcee. Trias, the Maryknoll grad and "American Idol" star, sang a number of songs, including "Sing" with the "Jasmine Choir," 60 Maryknoll students ranging from tiny tykes to high-schoolers. Another highlight was the first public showing of plans for the school's $12 million center that will be used for assemblies, theater, sports events and more. Fund-raising chairs are Dr. Tom Kosasa and Al Wong, chair of Maryknoll's board. Guests included Ben and Vicky Cayetano, Ann Kobayashi, David Carey and Bob and Marilyn Whiting ...

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