Bloggerhythms

When I vacationed in Hawaii in 2009 I discovered that the islands' music was one way the formerly independent kingdom celebrated their unique heritage. When scanning the car radio dial it was easy to find stations that programmed nothing but Hawaiian music, and some of them were broadcasting entirely in the fiftieth state's native language. While in Honolulu I discovered Grammy winner Henry Kapono who's been one of Hawaii's most loved musical icons for decades. Known almost exclusively in the 50th state, Kapono is a versatile musician and singer-songwriter who helps to keep his beloved culture alive while exploring mainstream pop-rock and many other genres over his long career. In 2006 Kapono recorded a rock album while singing all of the songs in the island's indigenous tongue on The Wild Hawaiian . On other occasions he's played acoustic folk-rock and straight-ahead pop music, almost all of it in English. For many yea...

Today is a word for word rerun of an old post from May 26, 2011. I was reminded of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (better known as Iz) by Google who is paying homage to him on their homepage today to celebrate what would have been his 61st birthday. The original post, with comments, is here . You've probably only heard Israel (a. k. a. Iz) Kamakawiwo'ole's most famous song, "Somewhere over the Rainbow," on TV commercials or in a handful of movies. The tune features Iz's gorgeous vocal accompanied only by his solo ukulele. My love of his version of the classic song is second only to Judy Garland’s original from The Wizard of Oz . Iz recorded the song twice. The longer version combines Garland's classic with Louis Armstrong’s "It's a Wonderful World" and it's the one I prefer. The shorter track features just "Rainbow" without Armstrong’s hit. Recently, the song rode to the top of the charts in Germany even though it was first ...

Don't let the title of Nashville Sessions fool you. Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, and his sidemen, bassist Nolan Verner and drummer Evan Hutchings, did not record a country album even though its eleven songs were recorded in the city that is home to The Grand Ole Opry. Instead, Shimabukuro entertained us with a prog-rock set that used all kinds of electronic devises to make his ukulele sound like a rock 'n roll guitar. The talented, native Hawaiian of Japanese-American blood is best known for astonishing, solo acoustic, cover versions of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," Judy Garland's "Over the Rainbow, and The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." It was George Harrison's song that made Shimabukuro famous back in 2006 when, unknown to him, a video of his performance of it was posted on YouTube. It was among the earliest of the enormous website's videos to go viral. (Harrison, by the way, loved the ukulele, and even played ...

You've probably only heard Israel (a. k. a. Iz) Kamakawiwo'ole's most famous song, "Somewhere over the Rainbow," on TV commercials or in a handful of movies. The tune features Iz's gorgeous vocal accompanied only by his solo ukulele. My love of his version of the classic song is second only to Judy Garland’s original from The Wizard of Oz . Iz recorded the song twice. The longer version combines Garland's classic with Louis Armstrong’s "It's a Wonderful World" and it's the one I prefer. The shorter track features just "Rainbow" without Armstrong’s hit. Recently, the song rode to the top of the charts in Germany even though it was first recorded for his 1993 CD, Facing Future . By selling 1,000,000 copies it is the first album in history by a Hawaiian artist to achieve platinum status. I became fascinated with Hawaiian music during my vacation there two years ago and I listened to more than a little bit of Iz on CDs I f...

Even though John Cruz only released his second CD, One of These Days , in 2007, eleven years after his debut, Acoustic Soul , he has long been a highly regarded singer-songwriter in his native state of Hawaii. Acoustic Soul sold 100,000 copies on the islands upon its release. The CD is aptly named because the only electric instrument appearing anywhere on it is the bass that accompanies the band leader's acoustic lead guitar. Musically, the disc is a spirited affair that is loaded with Cruz's bluesy R & B vocals. His slightly raspy voice is perfectly suited for the songs showcased here. If you're not a fan of Hawaiian music don't be put off. This disc isn't traditional music with harmonies and a ukulele. The opening track, "Island Style," has become a Hawaiian standard and is played by bands all over the fiftieth state. "Only Cruz’s regional hit and "Kawailehua'a'alakahonua," sung in his native tongue, offer us any indi...

Two months ago I finally fulfilled my wish to visit Hawaii. I could post for weeks on end about the wonders of these beautiful islands but since this is a site devoted to music I'll pass up that temptation. Music was part of this vacation. We enjoyed some live hula bands and, while driving, I tuned into radio stations on both Oahu and Maui that played only Hawaiian music featuring native Hawaiian disc jockeys. In addition, toward the end of our two week trip, I went to a Barnes and Noble store on Maui to search for some Hawaiian CDs. I found several that turned out to be excellent purchases. The best one is by singer Teresa Bright . Her latest, released this past December, is Tropic Rhapsody . Tropic Rhapsody is a true jazz set full of a dozen old standards, many from the big band era and earlier, and all are at least marginally related to the islands in some way. Bright covers "Blue Hawaii" popularized by both Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley. It's original...