Songstress gears up for her 'Wedding March'

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

CHATTER: Keahi Conjugacion, a leading songstress of soul in the Islands, not only earned hurrahs and ovations at the recent Hawai'i International Jazz Festival on Maui — she's singing the tune of a bride-to-be. An October wedding is planned, and the groom is a popular and respected musician, Dan Del Negro, a pianist from Chicago, who performs with Conjugacion and a host of other local acts, including Na Leo Pilimehana and the Honolulu Jazz Quartet. ...

Coco Ho, 11-year-old daughter of pro surfer Michael Ho, plays the Kate Bosworth character as a child in "Blue Crush," the surfing adventure flick from Universal Pictures due out Aug. 16. She and brother Mason, 13, live with their parents at Sunset Beach, and both Dad and Mom (she's Brian Ho) can't believe the remarkable resemblance. Mason just returned from California surfing meets, so watch for another budding surfer star from the Ho 'ohana. ...

SIGHT 'EMS: Jack Bart, producer of the recent '70s Soul Jam concert at Blaisdell Arena, went fishing with members of the Stylistics aboard the Sea Verse after the concert and caught a 17-pound mahi. He brought it to restaurateur David Nagaishi at the Ocean House, where exec chef Keith Salvador cooked up a hearty meal. The soul show helped Hawaii Public Television raise $20,000, thanks to 100 patrons who bought a $200 show package. ...

Jadin Wong, a New York agent, has been auditioning actresses of Asian ancestry in New York, San Francisco and Honolulu for an upcoming Tom Cruise film, "The Last Samurai." She's been trying to cast the role of a geisha-house operator between 40 and 50 years old and a dancer between 20 and 30. During her pause here, she met with her island client Cathy Foy Mahi, a former Miss Hawai'i who sings weekends in the Frank Sinatra tribute show featuring Randy Smith at the Sheraton Waikiki's Esprit lounge. ...

Speaking of ex-Miss Hawai'is: Patricia Lei Anderson Murray, Miss Hawai'i '62, who is one of the goodness-and-gracious fairy godmothers in the Lee Cataluna-Keola Beamer musical, "You Somebody," at Diamond Head Theatre, said her son, Derek Murray, who plays Maui the demi-god in the " 'Ulalena" spectacle at the Maui Myth and Magic Theatre in Lahaina, had a hoot watching Daren Kimura, cast as Bobby Lusa in "Somebody," portraying the same figure in football-style yardage-gaining posture. By the way, Mom Murray has been performing with a taped foot and ankle, the result of a fall, which is why she isn't donning high heels like her two ex-Miss Hawai'i cohorts, Cheryl Toma Sanders ('90) and Candes Meijide Gentry ('99). During the early phases of the rehearsals, her foot was in a cast. ...

That was Yvonne Elliman at Compadres, grabbing a bite before she scooted over to the Melissa Etheridge concert recently. ...

ITEMIZATIONS: For Jennifer Perri's music-video shoot in Los Angeles last week, the Mid-Pacific Institute sophomore had the help of an industry hotshot to prettify her Eurasian looks. Mathu ca Anderson, who does makeup for Janet Jackson, No Doubt, Destiny's Child and Jennifer Lopez, among others, helped create Jennifer's new look, which resembled a younger J-Lo. ...

Those at the 30th reunion of Kalani High School's Class of 1972 Aug. 3 at Wai'alae Country Club can look forward to the band Flashback, composed of former Falcons led by ex-CNN anchor (and lieutenant-guv candidate) Dalton Tanonaka. "We do numbers from our era," says Tanonaka, who has enlisted Dave Toma and Kevin Daley. Classmates include KHON anchor Leslie Wilcox, Bankoh exec Donna Tanoue and lawyer Mitch Imanaka, but no, not everyone was musically inclined. ...

And that's Show Biz ...