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FRIDAY-SATURDAY
>> The Yellowjackets perform at Blue Note Hawaii
The Yellowjackets, one of the longest continuously performing jazz quartets in history, comes to Blue Note Hawaii for two nights.
In its 40-plus years, the group’s blend of funk, bop and R&B performed with an energetic virtuosic artistry has appealed to jazz lovers out for a good time. Their 24 albums are known for being creative yet distinct,including last year’s “Raising our Voice,” which featured Brazilian singer Luciana Souza. The Yellowjackets have been nominated for 17 Grammy Awards, winning for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for 1987 tune“And You Know That” and for Best Jazz Fusion Performance for “Shades” in 1989.
The group has maintained its appeal despite several changes in personnel and a subtle change in sound when co-founder and guitar virtuoso Robben Ford left the band after just a year. Though there have been a fewlead guitarists to play with them since then, much of the melodic lead has been handled by saxophonist/clarinetist Bob Mintzer, who joined in 1991.
Keyboardist/composer Russell Ferrante has been the mainstay of the group, having co-founded the band in the late ’70s. Drummer Will Kennedy is plenty tight with the band’s sound, having played with the group fortwo stints totalling about 20 years. Bassist Dane Alderson joined them four years ago.
THE YELLOWJACKETS
Presented by Blue Note Hawaii
>> Where: Outrigger Waikiki
>> When: 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday
>> Cost: $35 to $45
>> Info: 777-4890, bluenotehawaii.com
SATURDAY
>> Hawaii beer festival revels in local brews
Hawaii’s beer brewing business is booming, so take a moment to celebrate that at Craft, a Hawaii Beer Festival on Saturday at Bishop Museum.
More than 30 brewers from Hawaii will be on hand to present and discuss their beers, along with food truck vendors featuring food to pair with specific beers. All of the featured beers will have been brewed in Hawaii,many with locally grown ingredients as well.
Try some offerings from brewery Beerlab Hawaii, founded in 2016, or the libations from award-winning breweries Kohola Brewery (Bronze medal winner, 2016 Great American Beer Festival), Hawai‘i Nui/MehanaBrewing Company (gold and silver medals, 2012 World Beer Championship) and Big Island Brewhaus, (medalist in U.S. Open Beer Championships 2011-2018, World Beer Cup 2014). Or compare tastes from KauaiBrewing Co. and Kaua‘i Island Brewing Co. Honolulu Beerworks, Inu Island Ales, Lanikai Brewing Co., Maui Brewing Co., Ola Brew Co., and Waikiki Brewing Company will be represented at the event, presented by theHawaii Craft Brewers Guild.
Many of the beers feature locally grown ingredients, such as citrus, pineapple, macadamia nuts, coconuts, lychee and kiawe.
CRAFT, A HAWAII BEER FESTIVAL
>> Where: Bishop Museum
>> When: 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday
>> Cost: $55 for 10 beer tastings (21+); $20 “designated driver” tickets also available
>> Info: craft_beer_festival.eventbrite.com
TUESDAY
>> Duke Kahanamoku group recognizes student’s efforts
The Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Foundation will recognize a deserving Hawaii high school senior on Saturday, and fittingly for an organization named for Hawaii’s greatest waterman, it’s going big.
The student will receive a $25,000 scholarship from the organization. It is believed to be the biggest one-time scholarship in the state, awarded to a Hawaii resident with a minimum GPA of 3.0 who has competed incanoeing, surfing, kayaking, swimming, water polo, or volleyball, and who “exemplifies the character and personality traits of Duke Kahanamoku.”
Join in on the celebration at Diamond Head Theatre, featuring a performance by Irie Love, one of Hawaii’s most evocative R&B, reggae and soul singers.
Proceeds from the event fund the foundation’s scholarships and grants. The foundation has awarded more than $150,000 in college scholarships and more than $60,000 in grants supporting ocean activities forathletes and children in Hawaii.
OUTRIGGER DUKE KAHANAMOKU FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP CELEBRATION
>> Where: Diamond Head Theatre
>> When: 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
>> Cost: $10
>> Info: dukefoundation.org
TUESDAY
>> Spanish piano duo performs at Hawaii Theatre
The Spanish team of Elena Martin and Jose Meliton bring their romantic, virtuoso piano stylings to Hawaii Theatre on Tuesday.
Classically trained in both Spain and the U.S., the couple have made a name for themselves by playing two-piano transcriptions, composed by Martin, of works by great Spanish composers. Martin’s work traces thehistory of the Spanish music. It ranges from the pieces of Antonio Soler, a mid-18th century monk who composed some 500 keyboard sonatas, to 20th-century composers like Manuel de Falla, who created music forpiano, guitar and orchestra, and Isaac Albeniz, who wrote works based on Spanish folk themes.
“Spain has a diverse tradition of folk music and dance,” Martin writes on the couple’s website. “These traditions are inspired by instruments like the castanets, and the guitar, which have contributed special rhythmicand melodic patterns, and by Arab influences.”
Spanish music has a way of making time stand still, and the couple convincingly conveys that, with many critics praising performances as “hypnotic” and “electrifying” while also lauding their near-perfect synchrony, anecessity in dual piano performance.
ELENA MARTIN AND JOSE MELITON
>> Where: Hawaii Theatre
>> When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
>> Cost: $25 to $100
>> Info: 528-0506, hawaiitheatre.com
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