Willie K shows a jazzier side

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

"WILLIE K: LIVE AT HAPA'S" by Willie K, Maui Tribe Productions, WKE1983.

This is a wild and wooly Willie K . . . without Amy, without pretensions, with no holds barred.

Recorded live on Maui, this two-disc outing captures the essence of Willie, as rocker, as blues brother, as soul father, as jamming and jiving hotshot. It's more Hendrix than Hawaiian, more kinetic than kahiko, but totally mesmerizing. It's raw, earthy, feel-good funk.

This is the Willie who often tours Mainland blues and jazz clubs but is seldom exposed here. It's Willie with attitude, agility and animation.

"Ain't No Lovin' Blues" is searing with energy, thumping with spirit. This particular posture prevails throughout most of the disc, nurtured with a flavorful blues/rock backup featuring Don Lopez (bass, vocals), Margaret Rainsford (keyboards), Pedro Friere (percussion) and Gerry Davis (drums).

The fare fluctuates, depicting Willie's many styles and wide repertoire, from Jamaican ("Kayia," "Bubblin' Reggae Music") to soul ("I Need to Know"), from classic remakes ("Over the Rainbow" — a real dandy, romantic and reflective) to soul ("Rock a Doo").

There are obvious homages to B.B. King ("The Thrill Is Gone") and Bob Marley ("Is This Love"), a mirror of Willie's command of a mixed musical bag. The voice is powerful, the guitar work is equally fiercely expressive.

With a few exceptions, Willie wrote the music, so the album is a personal and precise showcase of his "other" (read: non-Hawaiian) side.

"NA LEO PILIMEHANA: ANTHOLOGY II (1984-2001)" by Na Leo, Na Leo Pilimehana NLPCD 3011.

This best-of anthology, assembling 15 previously available tunes in a handsome new package, offers three bonus cuts (selected by each member of the trio) that depict yet another side of this endearing ensemble comprised of Lehua Kalima Heine, Nalani Choy and Angela Morales.

There's honesty, sweetness, wholesomeness, beauty and love in just about everything they do. OK, there are some exceptions: "Pineapple Princess," "Taro Patch Twist" and "Sugar Cane Shack" are more gleeful than grandiose. But the characteristic Na Leo signature — that romantic posture best represented in such joyous items as "The Rest of Your Life," "You Are Everything," "I Miss You My Hawai'i," "Saving Forever" and "I'll Be Here 4 U"— is the magnet and the magic.

The "extras" (the bonus cuts) are kind of a stroll down memory lane, with requisite retro Motown sound, glossed with harmonic images of the '70s via "Just My Imagination," "Let It Be Me" (with Rick and Angela Morales featured) and "All This Love."

Na Leo still sounds like angels. This retrospective of its six-CD career, dating back to high school days, includes a logo window sticker. Next up for Na Leo: A second Christmas album, later this year.