Rene Paulo has been making music for almost his entire life. He started playing the piano at the age of 4, and was only 12 when he got first job as a paid musician, stepping in as a last-minute replacement for the pianist in a dance band playing for soldiers during World War II.

A lifetime later, at the age of 85, music is still an important part of his life.

“I try to manage to practice every day. I have to, to upkeep my dexterity; there’s always room for improvement,” Paulo said while enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon at his daughter Gail’s home in Ko Olina.

For most of his adult life, Paulo was a working musician. He and his wife, Akemi, entertained audiences in Japan and Hawaii and on the mainland. He played at Keone’s, a club on Lewers Street in Waikiki which is fondly remembered as one of Honolulu’s great jazz clubs of the 1960s and ’70s. He and Akemi later opened Opus One at the Ilikai and made it one of Waikiki’s great nightspots.

Paulo also played a popular solo engagement at the former Kahala Hilton where it was always a treat to hear him play an extended arrangement of “Rhapsody in Blue” from memory.

Hawaii will have a rare opportunity to again enjoy Paulo on Saturday, when he’ll be a special guest at son Michael’s 60th-birthday concert at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Michael Paulo, who followed in his musician father’s footsteps, is a popular jazz saxophonist and the concert’s headliner and producer.

“I’m happy that they still enjoy what I’m doing because I still enjoy what I’m doing,” Rene Paulo said. “Sometimes people will tell me that their mother or father used to listen to my music, or that they heard their parents playing my records when they were little.”

That thought makes him chuckle. “For them to come up and say that, it’s really gratifying.”

Being mostly retired gives Paulo more time to spend with his wife. They start the day with breakfast together and enjoy watching Korean movies. Golf is another favorite activity. He has been a member of the Lokahi Golf Club for 36 years and plays golf at least once a week.

“I’m happy, of course, to be able to play still with the club, but of course my handicap has gone up. I used to be 19, then it was 26; now I’m a 35 handicap but I’m still enjoying my game.”

He is also active as a recording artist. He recorded a 22-song CD, “The Way You Look Tonight: Sweet Ballad for Hawaii,” for Respect Records, a Japanese label, earlier this year. It was released in April and is available through online retailers.

“Piano has been my life all through. People would say, ‘What are you going to do when you grow up?’” Paulo recalls with a hearty chuckle.

“I always knew what I was going to be. It was just a natural transition from my early days to what I am today, and I still enjoy it. I enjoy playing myself and I enjoy performing.”