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"'Ukuleles In Paradise"

Herb Ohta Jr. & Daniel Ho
(Daniel Ho Creations)

The Ko Aloha Ukulele celebrates its 10th anniversary this summer and this beautiful new album couldn't come at a better time. Herb Ohta Jr., and Daniel Ho both have endorsement deals with the company and the album is a perfect demonstration of their instruments' capabilities.

The impact is heightened because Ohta plays a conventional four-string ukulele and Ho plays a custom-made six-string instrument. Ho isn't the first to play a six-string ukulele, but his doing so here adds range and textures to the arrangements.

Ho borrows an idea from Grammy Award-winning producer Charles Michael Brotman in isolating his playing on one side and Ohta's playing on the other. This increases the sense of enjoying a live performance by Ohta and Ho, and also gives serious students an opportunity to dissect their technique.

www.danielho.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: "I'll Remember You" "Pua Olena" "Hi'ilawe" Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

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"Nohea"

Gordon Mark
(Daniel Ho Creations)

Ukulele virtuoso Gordon Mark teamed up with producer J.W. Junker to record his debut album, "Natural Elegance I," late last year and released it in December. Distribution and promotion were haphazard, but the album was available in a few local record stores and sold well wherever Mark played.

Mark's fans should note that this is apparently a hasty release by Daniel Ho's Los Angeles-based record label. It contains 11 of the 16 songs from the earlier album. Ho doesn't mention Junker or the musicians who backed Mark on "Natural Elegance I," but acknowledges Ron Klohs, the original project engineer. Comprehensive annotation is essential in documenting the recordings and in allowing the consumer to make an informed choice. This album doesn't have it.

Mark plays by memory so no two takes would be exactly alike, but until Ho confirms the provenance of these recordings, "Natural Elegance I" is a better buy. Anyone who has it can pass on this one.

www.danielho.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: "Akaka Falls" "Till There Was You" "Fur Elise" Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info

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"Humble Soul"

Humble Soul
(Quiet Storm)

Consumers take note: There is only one new song on this "new" album by Humble Soul, and nothing on the cover to clearly convey that important fact to buyers.

Humble Soul (born Doug Bautista) established himself as a roots reggae purist with an album titled "Good Lord, Thank You" for Rocket Entertainment in 1996. He reaffirmed his commitment with "Jah Love Supreme" for Crucial Runnings Productions in 2001. Both albums consisted of original songs. Some gave thanks and praises to Jah. Others encouraged the faithful to use Jah's teaching in daily life and denounced posers who falsely represent themselves as rastafari. "Vibration Stimulation," the new song, is more of the same.

This album could have been a great retrospective, but with no annotation beyond basic production credits it is merely a low-budget recycling project.

www.quietstorm.com

Mpeg Audio Clips: "Vibration Stimulation" "I Say" "Unity" Quicktime | RealPlayer | MPEG-3 info