The Ukulele Keaka was a concert series Hawaii Music Supply had every Friday night in their Higher Ground Cafe - Enjoy
Make sure you stop one player before playing another.
These video’s are from the first set of the first Keaka featuring Abe Lagrimas Jr., first solo, then with Alden Tokuzato and Adriano (Adj) Larioza on the cajon and other percussion instruments. Both the guitar and ukulele were made by Ko’olau. The guitar is a Redwood topped chambered solid body acoustic, and the ukulele is a Spruce/Rosewood Tenor Deluxe. This is live footage from April 2009. I love it, hope you do too. Enjoy~
Unfortunately, had to close Higher Ground, but it was fun, AND we have tons of unreleased footage!! More still to come!
In the Acoustic Room-
Mailani and Dr. Trey - Original music with Rippin' Ukulele!
I had not seen Treacy Terada in a few years so I took a drive down to the windward side to see what this old friend is up to. About a stones throw from the Kanilea factory is Four Strings Studio. This haven of musical aspiration has been Dr. Trey's work station for as long as I have known him. He recorded and produced Jake Shimabukuro's first four albums here along with many other diverse projects.
Dr. Trey's latest undertaking has been with a talented young lady from the island Mailani Makainai. Mailani first found succes in her group Keahiwai and is now set to take it to the next level as a solo artist, that is with the help of Mr. Treacy Terada, aka Dr. Trey.
It was a great year at NAMM for the ukulele! There has never before been as many makers or players. This may be due to the incredible musicians that are emerging and inspiring us, or maybe it is just a growing realization of how amazing this instrument really is.
Ukulele at NAMM 2011- James Hill! Playing for Kala this year was the ingenious Canadian, James Hill. James is flowing in music and thought. Listening to him play, or even talking with him has an almost calming effect because he is so captivating. James has a multitude of styles and techniques that cross boundaries and fascinate a diverse crowd. He is an entertainer, an educator, and a testament to the Langley Ukulele program. Seeing James play, following the surprisingly fantastic film -”The Mighty Uke”, was the highlight of my trip. (If you have not seen “The Mighty Uke”….See it!! )
James Hill and Bakithi Kumalo- Ukulele at NAMM 2011
Another highlight from the show was Aldrine Guerrero playing at the Kanilea Booth. His rhythm and percussive strumming has so much energy. It is exciting to watch and hear! It is interesting for me watching his hand on the tape because I usually shoot in 30FPS (frames per second) and for some reason I had my camera on 60 FPS for this first video so you can see well beyond the average human eye, which is around 20-30FPS. So blurring is all you see live, but here you clearly see some crazy wrist action. After close revision I am pretty sure that Aldrine is an Alien… just kidding, I know he just has a ton of soul and channels it into his playing. This is the sound inspiring kids to push the envelope on this instrument and take the ukulele to new places. Major props to the Ukulele Underground and Aldrine. You guys are doing great things!
Ukulele at NAMM 2011 -Abe Lagrimas Jr. -Ko'olau Artist - Miko Espanol -Kala Artist