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Posted on: Sunday, August 28, 2005
ISLAND SOUNDS
Here's something for lovers of Island music of all kinds
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
Kapono Beamer, a member of a prolific kama'aina musical family, looks to his past to shape his future as a recording artist.
"SLACK KEY DREAMS OF THE PONOMOE" BY KAPONO BEAMER; KAPONO BEAMER ENTERPRISES
Genre: Traditional Hawaiian, world music.
Kapono Beamer, member of the productive Hawaiian musical family, revisits his traditional roots with mele and reflections. With two tracks featuring the voice of his grandmother, Louise Leiomalama Walker Beamer, Beamer goes full throttle in reaching back into his storied history, performing his nose flute ('ohe hano inu) and adding gourd rhythms (ipu) to "Manono Chant" and "E Manono," selections which project dreamlike qualities from another time. With the ki ho'alu framework, the moods here are gentle, serene, wistful and, as the title implies, dreamy. The Beamer originals — some vocal, some instrumental — embody a range of moods tapping such diverse entities as the Hawaiian owl ("Ka Lele O Pueo"), the Hawaiian sea turtle ("Makahonu"), a pit bull ("Bullah Ilio"), gently cascading waters ("Kani Wailele") and rainfall in Nu'uanu ("Ua Ki O Wao"). "Out of Control" and "Lost in the Sound of Your Voice," two vocals in English, employ the idiom of jazz and blues with the sweetness of a romantic sojourn. The entire tone of the disc is low-key, subdued, mood-provoking and often nostalgic. Liner notes provide revealing details of small-kid-time recollections, linked to specific titles; composer's notes augment the tales and meanings behind the tune. Beamer performs on slack-key guitar, piano and Hawaiian implements. Noel Okimoto appears on drums and percussion; Dean Taba, on bass.
The outlook: This Beamer journey is akin to his musical escapades earlier in his career; the tradition lives again.
Our take: A tidy return to Beamer's past, a luminous torch for his immediate future.
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Reprinted with permission |
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