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“BACK TO HILO FOR THE HOLIDAYS”
Kuana Torres Kahele (Kuana Torres Kahele)
Hawaii recording artists aren’t releasing Christmas albums at the rate they did 10 or 20 years ago, so Kuana Torres Kahele’s beautifully packaged CD is a welcome seasonal treat. It is also a memorable demonstration of his range as a vocalist.
Rightly recognized as one of the great Hawaiian falsetto singers of his generation, Kahele shows that his lower-register vocal is also a valuable asset. Furthermore, he can sing mainstream pop standards with the same finesse he brings to his Hawaiian repertoire.
Kahele opens with a briskly swinging arrangement of “Yule Cool,” a mainstream Christmas standard introduced by Louis Armstrong in the early 1950s that he personalizes in fine style. Kahele is also surprisingly successful with his pop treatment of “Merry Christmas Darling” — the Carpenters’ version will always be definitive, but Kahale captures the emotions nicely. A third standard, Irving Berlin’s mid-1930s hit, “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm,” takes Kahele to the lower edge of his lower register, but is all the more interesting for showing how low he can go when he wants to.
Several hapa haole originals share Kahele’s personal feelings for Christmas. “E Mililani O Iehova,” written by Hawaiian songwriter G-Girl Keli‘iho‘omalu and sung by Kahele in his trademark falsetto, is a reminder of Christianity’s deep roots here.
Several guests make notable contributions. Kalena De Lima is Kahele’s vocal partner on his uptempo remake of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” while De Lima’s younger sister Lilo De Lima and Mark Keali‘i Ho‘omalu are Kahele’s guests on a stirring, Hawaiian-language version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.”
Visit kuanatorreskahele.com.
“HOMELESS MAN (SAMMY’S RAILROAD)”
Lee Gonsalves (Tin Idol Productions)
If the melody of Lee Gonsalves’ new CD-single brings to mind a song that singer/songwriter Phil Williams released 20 years ago, there’s a very good reason. Gonsalves reveals in the liner notes that he used “Sammy’s Song,” Williams’ tale of a lonely old man who has neither home nor family, as the platform for his song about homeless people in Hawaii.
Gonsalves speaks eloquently of the plight of Hawaii’s homeless and suggests that officially sanctioned villages are the best solution. He closes with an earnest appeal: “Most of the homeless in Hawaii are our ohana. If we don’t help them, who will? Think about it.”
Gonsalves’ studio musicians — N8 Alfaro (bass), Sandy Essman (backing vocals), Bobby Ingano (steel guitar) and Gonsalves younger brother, Gerard K. Gonsalves (guitar/drums) — do an excellent job backing him.
Visit reverbnation.com/lee gonsalves.
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