In June 2004, Honolulu Magazine put together a panel of experts and named The 50 Greatest Hawaii Music Albums Ever. <a href="The Mountain Apple Company celebrated that by releasing The 50 Greatest Hawai’i Music Albums Ever, which featured cuts from those great albums. On The 50 Greatest Hawai’i Music Albums Ever Vol. 2, they have selected tracks like Cecilio & Kapono’s “Friends,” Eddie Kamae, Sons of Hawai‘i’s “E Ku‘u Morning Dew,” Don Ho’s “Hawaii Aloha,” and Alfred Apaka’s classic “The Hawaiian Wedding Song.”

Willie and Eric will have a special performance and autograph signing at Borders Waikele this Saturday, July 1 at 2PM.

Kenneth Makuakāne has launched his new website and blog in anticipation of his upcoming solo Hawaiian release. The site is filling out nicely, and he will be adding more information on his previous releases with the Pandanus Club, Kā‘eo, Mango and as a solo artist. It also contains news of a concert to celebrate the release of “Hōkūle‘a – The Legacy”.

Update: I just received an email from Maila Gibson – “Hōkūle‘a – The Legacy” will be released on July 11.

Honolulu’s favorite contest of unamplified, old-fashioned singing of nahenahe (sweet) Hawaiian mele (songs) returns to the Hawai‘i Theatre as Ka Hīmeni ‘Ana 2006 presents an evening filled with Hawaiian music and the smell of na pua awapuhi (ginger flowers). The purpose of Ka Hīmeni ‘Ana is to encourage the singing of Hawaiian music in the “old-style,” without microphones, and to provide opportunities to undiscovered talent.

Ka Hīmeni ‘Ana will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2006, at the Hawaii Theatre, Pre-Show with Mahi Beamer & the Robert Morton Orchestral Theatre Organ at 7:00 PM. 7:30 PM- Showtime. Tickets On Sale: Saturday, 15 July 2006, prices: $6 – $10 – $15 – $20 – $25 – $30. Hawaii Theatre Box Office: 1130 Bethel Street, Honolulu, HI 96813, (808) 528-0506. Purchase tickets on line at: www.hawaiitheatre.com.

Join Mistress of Ceremonies, Marlene Sai, Mahi Beamer, and 2004 Ka Hīmeni ‘Ana winners and 2006 Na Hoku Hanohano “Group of the Year,” Holunape.

Mele.com will present a special showing of “Words, Earth and Music” on Tuesday, July 11, 6:30pm, Hanalei Elementary School Cafetorium, Donations accepted. Eddie and Myra Kamae will be present, and Eddie will offer a brief musical performance, and will be available for autographs. Attendees will be able to purchase Kamae products (DVDs, CDs, book) with all proceeds going to their Hawaiian Legacy Foundation (http://www.hawaiianlegacy.com) to help document, preserve, and perpetuate the cultural heritage of Hawai`i through film, educational programs, community outreach, and archival work.

Lyle Ritz has a varied musical career, which included playing bass guitar on such 1960s hits as the Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” and the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations”. His first love, though is ‘ukulele. I found stories about him on The Oregonian and The Portland Tribune websites.

My previous post had only been online for about 5 minutes when I got an email from a reader asking what I meant by “second Hawaiian renaissance”.

I submitted a proposal to present a paper at a gathering of the International Council of Traditional Music (ICTM) which will held in Honolulu in November, following the conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM). I’m a member of both organizations. I sent a draft of my proposal to Jane Freeman Moulin, a professor of ethnomusicology at UH-Mānoa, who in turn forwarded it to professor emeritus Barbara Smith. In it I made reference to “the Hawaiian renaissance,” and Barbara emailed me, asking if people in Hilo had begun to use the term “second Hawaiian renaissance” for that era in the 1960s/1970s, as the Kalākaua era is also referred to as a Hawaiian renaissance. Of course she’s right. I tended to simply use “Hawaiian renaissance” for that era of the 60s/70s, and be more specific, when necesssary, when referrring to the Kalākaua era. I’ll be more careful in my use of the term in the future.

Wayne Harada offers high praise of Henry Kapono’s “The Wild Hawaiian” and shares John Berger’s concerns regarding how it will be received (“his elders may consider the album blasphemy”). He also reviews Mānoa DNA’s debut release.

I remember being at one of Skylark’s music conferences a few years ago here in Hilo, and a member of a Hawai‘i island group (I think it was Moemoeā) had said something during the discussion about their music not being accepted. My reply: musical innovators are rarely recognized and accepted at first by the public, and only occasionally by their peers, particularly when it comes to innovations in traditional music. If you want to innovate, do it, be prepared for criticism, and take it like a man (or woman). Accept it, and if you really believe in what you do, just keep doing it. Avoid slamming the “damned traditionalists” – they’re doing their job, too. You may eventually win them over if you show some respect for them in the face of their criticism.

As highly-regarded as Gabby Pahinui is today, his playing and singing (and particularly his pronunciation) was not as well accepted in his youth. The same goes for the Sunday Mānoa and other artists from the second Hawaiian Renaissance. The Peter Moon Band, Willie K., Sudden Rush. They took their lumps and stuck to their guns. Artists today shouldn’t expect any different.

John Berger reviews Henry Kapono’s new CD, “The Wild Hawaiian”. I’m planning to pick up a copy today myself. Personally, I don’t think it will cause as much of an uproar as John does. Henry’s been around for a long time, has a lot of respect, and others have ventured into this area before, such as Willie K. and the Peter Moon Band. I think it will be judged on the quality of the music itself, and his treatment of the language. If he did his homework and got the lyrics and pronunciation right, it will be well accepted.

John also reviews new releases from Mānoa DNA, Lyle Ritz, and the re-release of a live Danny Kaleikini lū‘au recording from 1962.

The group Kohala has just released its latest CD, Deeper Blue. It shows Kohala’s evolution while influences of folk, jazz, and life in Hawaii continue to serve as a foundation and musical inspiration for the three members of this Big Island acoustic guitar trio, Charles Michael Brotman, Charlie Recaido, and new member Rupert Tripp, Jr.

I also noticed on the website that Palm Records has teamed up with the Honolulu Symphony to help enrich the lives of all of Hawaii’s children through accessible and affordable music education. $1.00 from every CD sold on www.palmrecords.com is donated to the Honolulu Symphony’s music education program for school children, which reaches 30,000 children in Hawaii’s schools each year. For more information about these educational programs visit: http://www.honolulusymphony.com/education.php.

And like Hapa, Kohala has a number of California gigs lined up for July. They’re currently performing in Japan.

Barry Flanagan and Nathan Aweau of Hapa, who won several Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards last month, have a number of concert appearances in July along the west coast of the U.S. and Canada, too.

Dick Jensen, a nightlife figure in the Waikiki and Las Vegas of the 1960s through the 1980s, passed away this morning. He was 64. He was just awarded a Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts’ Lifetime Achievement Award last month.

The Barefoot Natives will be performing this Thursday and Friday (June 22 and 23) at the Hawaiian Hut, Ala Moana Hotel. Both shows start at 8:30. Tickets are available at Hawai‘i’s Natural High Waikīkī, Hungry Ear Records Kailua, Jelly’s Aiea, Rainbow Books & Records UH & Aiea, Surf N Sea Hale‘iwa, and online at www.hulatickets.com.

Update: BFN will also appear on Kaua‘i at the War Memorial Convention Center on Friday, June 30. Tickets available at Bounty Music Kapa‘a, Hanalei Video and Music, Healthy Hut Kīlauea, K-Mart Līhu‘e, Progressive Expressions Koloa, Scotty’s Music Kalāheo, and online at www.hulatickets.com

Also, Peter Rosen forwarded this link to pics of BFN in concert. Mahalo, Peter.

Raiatea Helm will be performing on Hot Hawaiian Nights this Friday at Honolulu Hale, as part of Taste of Honolulu.

I spent the weekend with the family in Kona, and just catching up to this past weekend’s reviews. Both Wayne Harada and John Berger offer glowing reviews of Steven Espaniola‘s debut, “Ho‘omaka.” I have a copy on the way and hope it arrives in time for this weekend’s podcast.

This Thursday, June 22nd, join Nā Kama in the first installment of many to follow as Chez Monique proudly presents their Hawaiian Nites every Thursday from 8:30pm to 11:30pm, 98-150 Kaonohi Street, Aiea, Hawai’i 96701, phone 488-2439.

The Advertiser’s Wayne Harada previews tomorrow’s “Take A Walk In the Country” concert, and interviews the Mākaha Sons on a wide range of topics.

Ho‘okena, Hapa, Nā Kama, The Brothers Cazimero, Genoa Keawe and many others will be joining the Mākaha Sons at The 4th Anniversary Paradise Yellow Pages “Take A Walk In The Country” on Saturday, June 17, 2006, at the Neal Blaisdell Center Arena. Check the Sons’ website for more information and a video commercial. It is PDF (Pretty Darn Funny).

[From the Santa Cruz Sentinel] After two years in legal limbo, the only all-Hawaiian music radio station east of the Islands has received its license to broadcast in Watsonville, California. The low-power station has been operating since September 2004, but a dispute held up the license.

In addition to his appearance on tonight’s Hot Hawaiian Nights TV performance (Friday, June 9, K-5 , 6:30 p.m., pre-recorded), Aaron has the following upcoming performances:

• June 14, Kona Brewing Company, Hawaii Kai, 7 p.m.
• June 15, Moonlight Mele on the Lawn, 7 p.m., Bishop Museum (Aaron Sala, Na Palapalai)
• June 28, Kona Brewing Company, Hawaii Kai, 7 p.m.

Mahalo to Annie Inouye for the updates!

For the week of June 09 through June 15, 2006, Territorial Airwaves presents the music of Moe Keale. To listen, just click open the on-demand show on the Territorial Airwaves page at either www.hawaiian105.com, or www.am940hawaii.com, and you’ll enjoy the latest show.

Aaron Salā will be the featured performer on Hot Hawaiian Nights this Friday. Don’t head down to the Mai Tai bar for this one – it was pre-recorded on June 1. The show airs on K5 at 6:30 p.m.