‘He always called me a navigator,” Nainoa Thompson said of the late Roland Cazimero in remarks at a celebration of life for the musician Oct. 8 at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Monarch Room. It was a homecoming for Roland, who previously performed a dozen years at the Pink Palace with brother Robert as the Brothers Cazimero.
Thompson, president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, said he repeatedly told Roland that he was “a student of navigating, not a navigator,” despite being the steadfast visionary of the Hokule‘a, the acclaimed voyaging canoe that was docked off Waikiki during the celebration as family, friends and fans bid Roland a fond and final aloha.
Thompson was a fan before becoming a friend. He recalled the Renaissance spirit of Roland in the heyday of the Sunday Manoa, comprising the two Cazimeros and Peter Moon. The brothers from Kalihi would become beacons of the “new” Hawaiian music emerging in the 1970s. Roland also demonstrated navigational skills with singer-chanter Keli‘i Tau‘a when they formed another vital group, Hokule‘a, named after the vessel. Their “Hokule‘a: The Musical Saga of the Hawaiian Voyaging Canoe” was a beloved milestone album.
Thompson’s inspirational comments came from the heart and offered the take-away moment of a 4-1/2-hour “show,” crammed with familial memories and musical tidbits. Robert, sharing The Caz’s indelible “Ku‘u Ipo I Ka He‘e Pu‘e One” backed by Ho‘okena, provided the day’s tuneful memento.
With widow Lauwa‘e’s consent, Roland’s cremated remains will occupy the velvet-lined captain’s box of the Hokule‘a as it continues its Mahalo Hawaii tour of the islands in the days and weeks ahead. His ashes will then return home for scattering in the surf fronting the Royal, enabling the entertainer to continue his voyage beyond the reefs of Hawaii. …
DREAM WEAVERS
Fresh off the successful run of “The King and I” at Paliku Theatre, the I’m a Bright Kid Foundation is staging “First You Dream,” a fundraising cabaret show, on Saturday at Medici’s at Manoa Marketplace.
Kathleen Stuart, who portrayed Anna while still a student at Castle High School decades ago and re-created the role at Paliku, will front a cast that includes Jana Anguay Alcain, Miguel Cadoy III, Mary Chesnut Hicks and a few surprise guests in a slate of Broadway tunes and stories.
Tickets are $100, available at ticketspice.com. A champagne reception and buffet dinner, from 5:30 p.m., will precede the 7 p.m. performance. …
MARS AND STARS
Hawaii’s Bruno Mars has been attracting celebs at his ongoing 24K Magic tour. At a Capital One Arena show in Washington, D.C., former first lady Michelle Obama was in the audience and received from Mars a personalized baseball jersey with “OBAMA” and “24K” across the back. …
And Tom Brady, New England Patriots QB, brought his family to see Mars at the TD Garden in Boston. “I saw him about four or five years ago … and thought he was so talented, just in terms of singing, dancing, everything,” Brady told Boston radio station WEEI-FM. …
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran Honolulu entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or email wayneharada@gmail.com.
