“A He Leo Wale No E”

Hulu Lindsey
(Kahulu Productions)

From the first bars of “Makaha” through the final notes of “E Ku‘u Sweet Lei Poina ‘Ole,” this year-end album by Maui’s Hulu Lindsey is a delightful celebration of modern Hawaiian music. An all-star trio — Jeff Au Hoy (steel guitar), Aaron Sala (piano) and Kama­koa Lindsey-Asing (guitar, bass, ukulele) — gives her superb instrumental support. It’s been 11 years since Lindsey last recorded, and this album would represent Hawaii quite well indeed in the Regional Roots Music Album category at the next Grammy Awards.

Lindsey and the guys swing it a bit with “I Ali‘i No ‘Oe,” and they honor several great island composers of the last century with “Pua Be Still” (Bill Alii­loa Lincoln), “Na Kipikoa” (Bina Mossman) and “Lei Kiele” (Lena Machado). Most notable is the way Lindsey, Sala and Lindsey-Asing seamlessly blend two songs with the same title, “Kau‘i­ona­lani,” one written by David Chung, the other by Alvin Isaacs, that express the same sentiments with similar but different lyrics.

Several hapa-haole songs add variety. There’s a stately rendition of “Kalau­papa” that describes the beauty of the place “at the end of the rainbow,” and a wistful love song, “My Sweet Gardenia Lei,” that has touched hearts for several generations.

Sala steps forward as Lindsey’s singing partner on “Wai­mea Lullaby.” Frank De Lima’s recording of the song won a Hoku Award for composer Patrick Downes in 1980 and will always be the definitive version by virtue of being the first one, but Lindsey and Sala do a commendable job personalizing it. 

Lindsey and her two co-producers, Lindsey-Asing and Dave Tuc­cia­rone, complete the album with a beautifully illustrated booklet filled with the song lyrics, English translations of the Hawaiian lyrics, composers’ credits and production notes. Lindsey’s personal “Mahalos” in the liner notes give additional insights into her music and the things that inspire it.

"Makaha"