"Escape to Jazz Island"
Ken & Bob
(Grass Skirt)
Ken "Lopaka" Emerson, with his brother, Phil, reintroduced Hawaii to the sound of the original acoustic steel guitar in the late 1970s. He partners here with Robert Armstrong — another aficionado of classic acoustic Hawaiian and hapa haole music — to create a delightful look back at the sound of the early decades of the 20th century.
During that period the acoustic steel guitar was being adopted and adapted by musicians of several genres, and the duo combines elements of jazz, pop and the blues with hints of swing music and a few anachronisms.
Ken & Bob open with a medley — "Fish and Poi" and "In a Canoe" — that describes Hawaii in whimsical but consistently fond and favorable terms. The combination of compatible lyrics, the assorted acoustic instruments and two well-worn voices is a winning introduction to the duo and its music.
"Hapa Haole Hula Girl" is another old-timer that describes the romantic allure of Hawaii in timeless terms. "Shanghai Lil" recalls a movie from the early ’30s and shifts the locale to where "the stars that hang high over Shanghai bring back the memory of a thrill."
Pianist David Paquette enhances the ambience of several selections. One of the instrumentals, "Girl of My Dreams," gives him space to stretch out and swing. "Someday Sweetheart" shows he can sing, too.
Elaine Hoffman adds a woman’s voice to the project on "Pidgin English Hula" — a precursor by almost 50 years of contemporary local comedy.
The only things missing from this well-crafted retrospective are composers’ credits and background information. Who would guess that "Pidgin English Hula" was the work of Charles E. King, generally a staunch traditionalist in things Hawaiian? Or that British steel guitarist Peter Hodgkinson wrote "Tiger Shark" during rehearsals for a BBC broadcast?
For that matter, Emerson and Armstrong deserve credit for adding the unmistakable riff from "Jaws" and the melody of the Chantays’ surf-rock hit, "Pipeline," to Hodgkinson’s composition.
"Escape to Jazz Island" is available at www.GrassSkirt.co.uk.
www.GrassSkirt.co.uk
"Fish and Poi"/"In a Canoe"
