As pops conductor of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, Catingub is already a popular, high-profile performer. This adjunct orchestra has the potential to expand his horizons even further. With a dream team of guest artists such as Patti Austin, Keali'i Reichel, Toni Tennille, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom and the Brothers Cazimero, Catingub pushes the invisible boundaries of orchestral music — as well as pop and Island talent. He has teased impressive outside-the-box performances out of folks we've bounced along to over time.

For example, trio Na Leo rediscovers "Can't Help Falling in Love" in three-part harmony (with Catingub vocalizing, too). Reichel emotes like a wee-hour cabaret singer in a smoky bo”te on "How Deep Is the Ocean" while Gilliom is all intimacy, warmth and amour on "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" Tennille — yes, she of "Love Will Keep Us Together" fame, evolves into a seductive torch singer on "I'm Not Through With Romance." The Brothers Cazimero execute a hula vamp on "Let There Be Love," Austin demonstrates her enduring prowess on "My Heart Stood Still," Raiatea Helm chirps like a misty-eyed romantic on "My Romance," Jimmy Borges indelibly inhabits the smooth and dreamy "When I Fall in Love" and Dave Koz's eloquent sax speaks volumes on "A Time for Love." And then there's Catingub himself, blowing sweet blues on his saxophone in "A Time for Love."

Kulia i ka Punawai made history in 2004 when all these selections were performed live in the Hawaiian language in a Southern California presentation; this CD, then, is a document of that moment. Kumu hula had to research, then perform each title, to capture the ritualist cadence of the past. Producers Lowell Edgar, Daniel Ho and Amy Ku'uleialoha Stillman have concocted an educational tool with Hawaiian lyrics and English translations in a tidy liner booklet.

The presenting organization, Kulia i ka Punawai (an association of California hula enthusiasts) is to be applauded for this compelling project. Grammy-winning artist Daniel Ho, too, should receive a maile lei for providing this aural document for current and future generations of hula disciples — and efforts to stage a live performance here are in the works. The release is part of a "Legacy Hula" series, with a next-volume tribute to chants honoring Queen Kapi'olani on the drawing boards.