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Jack de Mello, the pioneering arranger-conductor-recording artist whose majestic symphonic treatment of island songs reached a global audience, routinely used a pencil — never a baton — to conduct his orchestra. He died at age 102 on April 27 in Las Vegas.
“He was a genius, always conducting with a pencil,” recalled Nina Keali‘iwahamana, 82, the noted soprano featured on several de Mello discs. “I wanted to buy him a baton, but there he stood on a pedestal, conducting with a pencil in front of an orchestra of no less than 40 musicians.”
Jon de Mello, 70, the maestro’s son, verified the pencil story, saying “it had to always be a No. 2 pencil so he could make corrections (erasures on his charts).”
Emma Veary, 89, said she couldn’t remember where she recorded “Kamehameha Waltz,” one of her signature songs which de Mello arranged with his trademark orchestral flourishes. “It was so long ago. But Jack was very, very professional; when we went to work, we went to work,” she said. “At one point in the session, he told me ‘you are very special, and professional; many people don’t like to hear the playback,’ as I sat there and listened. That was such a compliment.”
De Mello was the founder of Music of Polynesia recording company. His lush, symphonic interpretations of island melodies soared beyond the reef, with Keali‘iwahamana, Veary and Marlene Sai among the early notables in the label’s stable of artists. De Mello logged more than 160 albums in his legendary career, recording nearly 500 Hawaiian songs.
The label and business morphed into the Mountain Apple Company led by son Jon, and engaged the talents of Keola and Kapono Beamer, Booga Booga, the Brothers Cazimero and Jon and Randy during the infancy of the Hawaiian renaissance of music in the 1960s and ’70s. Amy Hanaialii, Willie K, Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole and Raitea Helm joined the roster in later decades.
“He was in a (care) home and had an incredible 101 years of a great life,” said Jon, who retrofitted a storage space in his dad’s Las Vegas home into a sound studio, where de Mello actively tinkered.
“I visited the studio and Jack was like a kid in a candy store,” said Keali‘iwahama, at one time a kitty-corner neighbor of the musician when she and husband Gordon Rapoza lived in Vegas for 15 years. “He didn’t really need a piano; he could write out his (arrangements) that were magnificent. He took Hawaiian music to the highest level; Henri Berger, Charles King — who worked with the Royal Hawaiian Band — must be so envious.”
With increasing dementia issues, Jon thinks his dad is now in a better place, “reuniting with his musician friends. The last year and a half were a challenge; he could remember things from the ’40s, but he wouldn’t know what he had for lunch,” he said. “I’m so lucky to have a father like him — a walking encyclopedia with such wit.”
Services will be private, sometime in August. The remains of Jon’s mother — dad’s first wife, Penny — will be reunited with Jack’s, with the scattering of ashes at sea. Granddaughter Kamokila “Kila” de Mello — named after Kamokila Campbell, an affluent and influential business partner of Jack — along with Kila’s daughter Penelope, will return from Florida for the services. De Mello’s second wife, Isle, who notified Jon about the death, is the only other survivor. …
Mom’s the word
Comedian Frank De Lima will do a Mother’s Day show, at 11:30 a.m. May 12 at the Pagoda’s C’est Si Bon; doors open at 9:30 a.m., with a buffet brunch from 10 a.m. Tickets: $70 adults, $40 keiki 5-8, at 948-8370 or pagodahawaii.com. …
Na Leo Pilimehana will salute moms at 1:30 p.m. May 12 at the Hawaii Theatre Center. Tributes to the Lady of Love, Loyal Garner, and kumu hula Leina‘ala Kalama Heine, tutu to Lehua Kalima’s children, are planned. Tickets: $35-75, at 528-0506 or hawaiitheatre.com. …
Melveen Leed gives a free show for moms “who have nowhere to go” at noon May 12 at the Ohana Hale Marketplace. Rodney Cazimero and Iwalani Walsh are guests. …
Bluesy duo
Davell Crawford and Charmaine Neville, two New Orleans rhythm and blues powerhouses, take the stage at Blue Note Hawaii, at 6:30 and 9 p.m. May 13. Crawford, a pianist, delves in American Roots music; Neville, a member of the legendary Neville Brothers legacy, puts her own jazz and funk stamp on her Crescent City sound. Tickets: $25 to $45, at 777-4890 or bluenotehawaii.com. …
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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