Search - Kalima Brothers :: Vol. 1-Vintage Hawaiian Legend

This CD features 14 tracks by the Kalima Brothers and 11 tracks by the Richard Kauhi Quartette originally issued in the mid to late 1940s on Bill Fredlund's Bell Records label. The Kalima Brothers were quite popular in postwar Honolulu on record as well as in the local club scene. They have a sound typical of Hawaiian music of the time, with multipart harmonies, syrupy steel guitar solos, piano, uke, and bass. The highlights of the album are Jesse Kalima's ukulele solos of non-Hawaiian material like "Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Under the Double Eagle"--two marches he had originally learned on the saxophone as a child in the school band in Kalihi. Richard Kauhi studied piano as a child and joined the Kalimas in 1942 at the age of 13. While their former pianist had pounded out chords in a more traditional, solid rhythm, Kauhi brought a more modern, "advanced" jazzy style. By 1947 Richard had tired of his backup role in the band and formed his own group, whose recordings of 1948 are featured here. They have less of a traditional sound, influenced by the King Cole Trio, Merry Macs, and George Shearing. --Melissa Axelrod