By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Forget "American Idol." Four Hawai'i jazz musicians are attracting national attention — so much so, that their CD is tied with Norah Jones' latest on the JazzWeek national chart.

The Honolulu Jazz Quartet's "Sounds of the City," which was recorded here, has been on the JazzWeek Top 50 chart for the past three weeks. JazzWeek is the definitive jazz radio airplay chart for stations across the United States and Canada. The CD was released nationwide in February. It debuted at No. 44 on JazzWeek three weeks ago.

"We are still hovering in the mid-40 range on the chart," band founder John Kolivas says. Though he's not counting on climbing the charts much higher, he says, " ... isn't it something to see the word 'Honolulu' in the top 50!"

It is particularly impressive since this was an independent project — not a big-musical label release, but their own project, their first, on their own label.

Kolivas, who plays bass, grew up in Hawai'i and went on to play on Broadway and perform with a long list of jazz notables including Larry Coryell, Herb Ellis, Makoto Ozone, George Benson, Glen Moore, Robin Eubanks and Richie Cole. He has also performed with the Honolulu Symphony and toured with Keola Beamer.

Saxophone player Tim Tsukiyama, described as a "local boy" in the liner notes, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has diverse performance credentials, from Ray Charles to Kalapana.

Dan Del Negro, who plays piano, has extensive musician theater credentials, having performed with touring companies of "Les Miserables," "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and "Miss Saigon." He also performs with, and is married to, Keahi Conjugacion of the beloved Conjugacion musical family.

Drummer Adam Baron is from Kansas City, Mo. He lived in Seattle before coming to Hawai'i, where he performed Brazilian music, jazz and jump blues.

The 10 pieces on the CD are all originals. The liner notes give insight to the inspiration of each; for example, the back story to a piece called "Heater's On." Apparently, when Kolivas moved to New York City in the 1980s to pursue his music, the noisy heater in his little apartment would often keep him up on cold winter nights. Many years later, that heater would inspire his composition. There's also a great little story about trumpeter Woody Shaw at a traditional Korean barbeque at the Kolivas family home in Hawai'i.

While so many in Hawai'i are trying to "cross the bridge" to the Mainland music scene, the Honolulu Jazz Quartet is building their own connection.

You can find out more about the band on their Web site, www.honolulujazzquartet.com.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.