Posted on: Sunday, February 20, 2005
BOOK MARK
A choice list of Hawai'i albums; fitting tribute to Royal musicians
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Books Editor
"Honolulu Magazine's The 50 Greatest Hawai'i Albums" by Ronna Bolante and Michael Keany; Watermark, hardback, $29.95.
The book is an expansion of Honolulu magazine's savvy June 2004 issue on the subject. It includes 'ono anecdotes the writers didn't have space to tell in the original piece, and more pictures, too.
The color reproduction in the book, printed in South Korea and released last month, is sometimes disappointing — muddy and soft in places. This may be due to the quality of some of the original art. Still, readers of a certain age will get a kick out of the behind the scenes pictures: the Sunday Manoa gang posing for the "Guava Jam" album jacket; Emma Veary looking a little lost amid music stands and instruments during a recording with Jack De Mello; Melveen Leed as Miss Moloka'i 1962; and Cecilio and Kapono in full beards.
Visuals aside, this is one to peruse while you listen to the companion CD. (The CD isn't sold with the book — a marketing boo-boo, if you ask me — but is available in music stores.)
One of the state's finest writer-reporters, Scott Stone, partnered with one of its most experienced and intelligent design professionals, photo editor Mazeppa King Costa, so that the book is a pleasure to read, both in form and substance. The eight chapters and many photos not only tell the history but offer the all-important: why we should care. (But why no index?)
As for the attached CD, Advertiser entertainment editor Wayne Harada gives this take:
The 18 tunes assembled on "The Royal Hawaiian Band: The Legacy" CD — accompanying the book, "The Royal Hawaiian Band: Its Legacy" — capture the glory and radiance of the band, its solo guest singers and a cadence steeped in tradition.
Marches abound: "Hilo March," "Kalakaua March," "Koni Au I Ka Wai Hu'ihu'i" and "Kamehameha March Medley" are ceremoniously rendered with foot-stomping and hand-clapping impact.
Vocals by Cathy Foy ("Kamehameha Waltz"), Yvonne Perry ("Akahi Ho'i"), Nalani Olds and Kappy Kapeliela ("Ke Kali Nei Au"), Sol Kalama and Nina Ke-ali'iwahamana ("Old Plantation"), Gene Roland ("Vesti La Giubba"), Keali'iwahamana and Olds ("Na Pua O Hawai'i/Na Lei O Hawai'i"), Celeste Sagarang ("Lei No Ka'iulani") and Puanani Kalama ("Kaulana O Hilo Hanakahi") demonstrate the wide-ranging talent that have graced a Royal concert over the years.
The Royal Hawaiian Glee Club (" 'Analani E") also gets a "moment."
Several musicians are featured in solo spotlights — steel guitarist Art Parelius on "Hilo March," clarinetist Ron Baltazar on "Wai'alae," flutist Susan Gillespie on "Mozart Flute Concerto in D Major" — demonstrating that there's stellar musicianship among the ranks.
The song parade plays like an actual concert, with the rendering of the state anthem, "Hawai'i Pono'i" at the start, and the traditional "Aloha 'Oe" at the finale. Ed Michelman, president of Friends of the Royal Hawaiian Band, serves as "announcer" and historian on the disc, providing introductions and commentary.
Whatever you thought of the selection of the first Hawaiian Grammy, paging through this picture-filled memory book will calm your nerves — at least until you identify a favorite or two of yours that isn't on the list. It won't be more than one or two, though — it's hard to argue about these choices.
"The Royal Hawaiian Band: Its Legacy" by Scott Stone; Island Heritage, hardback, $30
While we're on news and music, whatever you think of Aaron Mahi's dismissal as Royal Hawaiian Band bandmaster, this book/CD combo is a fitting tribute to the country's only full-time municipal band and to Mahi's tenure with it.
"Kamehameha March Medly" by The Royal Hawaiian Band. Audio sample available in mp3 format.
