'Malo musician' headlines 'Pops' concert

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

When he's not writing songs and recording music, Keali'i Reichel is teaching his halau on Maui. Reichel also has submitted a short film sequence, edited from a concert, to the Rainbow Film Festival. Kunihiro/RK Photography KEALI'I REICHEL Headlining the Honolulu Symphony Pops concerts 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday Blaisdell Concert Hall $30, $40, $50, $60, $75; seats remain for Thursday and Friday; sold out Saturday (some standing-room tickets may still be available) 792-2000, (877) 750-4400

He's immersed himself in his hula roots. He's also writing and recording new music for a forthcoming CD and he's studying with a Honolulu kupuna.

It's all about his comfort zone — what suits him artistically, what interests him personally, where he's destined professionally.

Latest things first: Next week, he makes his first Honolulu Symphony Pops Concert appearance in three years, with three performances starting Thursday at Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Also ahead, Reichel is a co-producer of "Ka Nohona Pili Kai," a four-minute high-definition film, on which his vocal is heard; its world premiere will be part of the Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, which begins Thursday at the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, with his short airing as part of a gala May 28 gala.

"Our concert (with the symphony pops) will be partially retro, partially new, and partially from our last album," said Reichel. "There will be music reconfigured for the symphony, stuff we don't perform often that people still like to hear, and some stuff without the orchestra that's good fun to do — maybe even some surprises, since we won't know till the last minute."

Asked about the first Hawaiian Music Grammy Award that went to a coterie of ki ho'alu musicians coordinated by Charles Michael Brotman, he chuckled: "I was more shocked than mad; disappointed that the language (aspect) was neglected. People have opinions about how it went, and that's fine; slack key is familiar, non-threatening, but that win could set a little precedence. It's going to be difficult for non-slack-key artists the next time."

But, he said, the experience was grand. "It was an interesting place to be, because people stared at us," he said. "What set us apart was that we all had on lei; we found each other, in the multitudes there, and we smelled the best — it was the coolest thing to be able to come together. The Hawaiians have a saying, ''ike aku kama 'ike mai,' which means 'I recognize you, you recognize me.' It's the kind of style you have when you go down the street; you tilt your head, without saying a word, when you recognize a local person. It's saying 'howzit' without saying a word. It's automatic."

Every Sunday, Reichel comes to Honolulu to study with kupuna George Holoka'i "because I've missed it and I love being a student."

Tuesday through Friday, he teaches hula on Maui to his 120 halau pupils, some as young as 10, at all levels of proficiency.

"I've really, really been focusing on my halau, which takes a big chunk of time," he confessed. "Some classes are small, confined to 20 or so, but it's great to be (doing) dance again."

His re-entry into active teaching and dance confirmed "how much I missed it. It's going to be one year since I expanded the halau and three or four years since I opened up the classes."

Asked if he'd be doing his hula 'auana thing in the symphony concert, appearing in his classic malo instead of chic, black Armani, he laughed: "My malo days are over; I jiggle too much now, so no can."

But with eventual dieting and an exercise regimen, he might reconsider: "I turn 43 next month, and the malo could come back, but no, the malo doesn't work now."

His slide into film is based on a concert sequence edited into a short. "I saw a rough edit of the piece and it had a lot of depth to it, so we submitted to the (Rainbow) film festival," he said.

He didn't know when his next CD would be out. "We're writing, we're recording. When pau, pau."

With his devotion to hula, Reichel said he might make the leap to Merrie Monarch in a few years. And he had high praise for kumu hula Robert Cazimero, whose Halau Na Kamalei, took top honors this year. "Robert solidified his place in the world of hula," said Reichel. "I don't usually stutter or get star-struck, but I had a hard time speaking with him, when he won; and I shudder to think how bereft the world would be had he not done what he's done all these years in hula. I don't think his impact on us has been fully understood yet. He was so deserving at Merrie Monarch; his older dancers just blew the young ones out of the box."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.