Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 6, 1 Iune 2004 — Keola Beamer CD revisits classics of the Hawaiian Renaissance [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Keola Beamer CD revisits classics of the Hawaiian Renaissance

By Manu Boyd £ ~jk jr ōhala Hou' means new hloom, or to l\ /I hloom again. And the latest award-win-U ▼ A ning CD from slack-key and Hawaiian music legend Keolamaikalani Beamer illustrates that phrase by re-introducing songs of fellow music legends he grew up with. The Hawaiian Renaissance Beamer refers to in his alhum title reflects the early 1970s, when steadfast practitioners of music and hula brought their craft to forefront. Among them, illustrious members of Beamer's own family,including his mother, Nona Kapuailohia Desha Beamer, long-time educator at Kamehameha, who coined the term "Hawaiiana." Other of Beamer's family members steeped in traditions of music and dance are his unele Keola, cousin Mahi'ai, grandparents Louise and Pono, and perhaps most notably, great-grandmother Helen Desha Beamer, Hawaiian musician and composer extraordinaire.

From his family, Beamer re-records "Real OId Style" on

this project, with " an oli in tribute \ to his grandpar- \ ents opening the \ pieee. The poignant \ tribute to his \ 'ohana says, "My \ aunties, they all 1 love to dance, and \ their families love \ to sing." That is without a doubt the Beamer elan tradition. The list of remarkable composers and

musicians who got their start in the 1970s makes for an impressive music bibliography on "Mōhala Hou." Jerry Santos ("Ku'u Home 'o Kahalu'u")', Henry Kapono (" Feeling Just the Way I Do")\ Robert

Beaumont/Clifford Hopps ( " llome "); Macky Feary i (" Moon and Stars") and Billy Kau'i (" Pretty \ Girl") are honored with fresh arrangements of \ their classics. \ Nona Beamer's "Pūpū Hinuhinu," the favorite \ children's song about shiny shells at the kahakai \ (shore), is again re-recorded by Beamer in a 1 tender tribute to the family matriarch. "Pua \ 'Āhihi" by Mary Kawena Pūku'i and Maddy \ Lam is performed as a rich instrumental,

although the song lyrics are perfect for hula, as evidenced years ago by Kumu Hula Maiki Aiu Lake and her husband's ensemble, the Kahauanu Lake Trio. For a complete discography of Keola

Beamer recordings, including what Honolulu Magazine recently dubbed as the number one alltime Hawaiian alhum, "Honolulu City Lights," recorded by Keola and his brother Kapono, visit www.kbeamer.com. Mōhala Hou was produced by 'Ohe Records. ■

Mfi f 'Aii ana

[?]