"Romantic Waikiki"
Na Leo
(NPL Music)

It’s been 28 years since Na Leo — then performing as Na Leo Pilimehana — debuted as the 1984 winners of the original I-94 "Brown Bags to Stardom" talent contest. A dozen-plus Na Hoku Hanohano Awards later, Na Leo’s newest release is a major new title in modern Hawaiian music.

The trio — Nalani Jenkins Choy, Lehua Kalima and Angie Fernandez Morales — harmonizes as beautifully as ever. All three also contribute as songwriters.

The title defines the theme. Na Leo celebrates the rich legacy of 20th-century Hawaiian and hapa haole songs that have ties to Waikiki. For "Royal Hawaiian Hotel" the connection is obvious. Others fit because they were popular there during what many now see as a golden age in island music.

Na Leo pays homage to the Farden family with a beautiful treatment of "Puamana," and the group evokes memories of the hapa haole craze on the mainland with "Taua I Ta Huahua‘i (more popularly known as "The Hawaiian War Chant").

The trio bridges several eras with "Hawai‘i Aloha." Most visitors probably won’t know its significance, but with Na Leo’s smooth arrangement, the track fits in perfectly with the modern classics and their own new compositions.

"Pua Mana"