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Robert Cazimero will revive a Lei Day tradition with a concert May 1 at Bishop Museum, re-establishing the popular Hawaiian celebration he and his late brother, Roland, staged for nearly 30 years at the Waikiki Shell.
The scope will be smaller, on the Great Lawn of the museum, but the sentiment will be the same: to reinforce May Day ’neath the stars and maintain Robert’s longtime mantra of “Make a lei, wear a lei, give a lei.”
“With Roland’s passing, I felt now would be a good time,” Robert said. “One more May Day blast, honor what we did together, then I can let it pass to the next generation of Hawaiians.”
Indeed, he hopes to pass on the torch to an interested somebody or an organization to maintain the May Day/Lei Day concept for future celebrants. Sure, the city hosts a daytime to-do at Kapiolani Park, but a nighttime destination is the issue.
Remember when you worked on May Day and couldn’t wait to don a lei to hele on to the Shell — with lei and bento in tow, mats to sit on if you were a lawn lover — for the evening pageantry of mele and hula? Singing “May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii” en masse was undeniably super.
Concert details are not yet set; tickets won’t be immediately available. The Valley Isle will get first peek at Cazimero’s Lei Day show at 7:30 p.m. April 28 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theatre. Tickets: $12 to $55 at mauarts.org. …
BLUE HAWAII
The aforementioned Robert Cazimero’s Jan. 25 Blue Note Hawaii gig, with surprise guest Marlene Sai, was rich with nostalgia, harkening back to a long-gone Waikiki. He shared hapa-haole songs, name-dropped (Don Ho), saluted composers (brother Roland, Kui Lee, Irmgard Aluli) — all memorable stuff.
“I don’t know whether I’ve had as much stress putting together shows in my life,” Robert confided about Blue Note. “It’s a constant battle. … Should I be doing the All-American Songbook or Hawaiian music? And whether to blend or not. It’s frustrating. I like melding but am never sure what the audience wants.”
His serenades haven’t disappointed patrons. With bassist-singer-dancer Nick Lum on board, along with singer-hula stylist Sky Perkins, Robert navigated an atmospheric tour de force. He was generous in showcasing Sai, enabling her to deliver all her signatures like “Kainoa,” “Waikiki” and “I Love You.”
And with ease Robert dusted off Roland’s “One Small Favor,” originally recorded by Perkins, Roland and twin sister Kanoe “Tootsie” Cazimero. In this incarnation, Lum assumed Roland’s lead vocals, Perkins sang and Robert took Tootsie’s part. Tip: Cazimero is back at the Blue Note on April 19. …
RANDOM NOTES
Bravo, Bruno Mars! Our local superstar won six of Grammy’s key trophies for his “24K Magic” album and “That’s What I Like” single purely on his musicality. (Plus a seventh prize for his engineering team’s work on “24K.”) His sweep proved artistry and creativity matter. Mars had dignity, savvy and an underlying celebratory tone — no politics, no finger-pointing, no grandstanding, no rants or chants. Only “Finesse,” like the tune he performed on the Grammy stage with Cardi B, reflecting on the joys of pop/R&B music. …
Ginai Curti will do her “Music of Whitney Houston” tribute at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Wednesday at Blue Note Hawaii. An earlier date was canceled because of stormy weather. …
And that’s “Show Biz.” …
Wayne Harada is a veteran entertainment columnist. Reach him at 266-0926 or wayneharada@gmail.com.
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