‘Pilialoha’

Weldon Kekauoha
(Mountain Apple)

Weldon Kekauoha’s third solo effort, released last fall and a 2013 Grammy finalist for regional roots album, celebrates the richness of Hawaiian music with classic compositions by Helen Desha Beamer and Lena Machado and a larger collection of newly written songs by ‘Iliahi Paredes and Kainani Kahaunaele.

The instrumentation and arrangements are traditionalist. Kekauoha, a multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner both as a member of the Mana‘o Company and as a solo artist, accompanies himself on acoustic guitar while Alexander "Alika Boy" Kalauli IV plays bass and sings harmony, and Bryan Tolentino is the primary ukulele player. From the opening bars of "Mahai‘ula," arranged as a medley with "Kona Kai ‘Opua," Kekauoha and his musicians honor Hawaii’s musical traditions and bring them forward.

Among the standout numbers is a beautiful arrangement of "Ho‘onanea" that features steel guitarist Casey Olsen and captures Kekauoha’s talent as a falsetto vocalist. Kekauoha’s zesty rendition of "E Ho‘i Ke Aloha Maunawili" is a nice change-of-pace piece that also demands attention.

Kekauoha’s commitment to perpetuating the Hawaiian language is underscored by the fact that with the exception of a few phrases, the lyrics here are all Hawaiian. Kekauoha and producer-arranger Dave Tucciarone complete the album with a beautifully illustrated liner notes booklet that provides the Hawaiian lyrics, English translations, important background information and photos of Kekauoha and his family.

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"Wehiwehi Hina"