Finger pickin’ good

March 7, 2013

With a repertoire that seems boundless, ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro plays it all - from jazz, blues, rock and funk, to classical, bluegrass, flamenco and Japanese folk, masterfully interpreting material as varied as a Nicolo Paganini's "Caprice," to Chick Corea's jazz classic "Spain."So when it came time to record his latest album, "Grand Ukulele," Jake decided to expand his horizons by teaming with legendary producer Alan Parsons, who he says, "really pushed me in the studio to play beyond what I thought I could do, or what I felt comfortable doing. He took me out of my comfort ...

Lana‘i toots its own horn with jazz festival

February 28, 2013

One of the star players at last year's jazz and blues festival at Grand Wailea, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, returns to Hawaii to co-headline the free third annual Lanai Jazz Festival.Presented Friday through Sunday by the Four Seasons Resorts Lanai, in partnership with the Lanai community, HawaiiONTV.com and Jazz Alley TV, the fest also features trombone virtuoso Delfeayo Marsalis, plus an ensemble of island talent including Paula Fuga, jazz guitar duo Damon Parillo and Ron Hetteen, Robbie Ray Lopaka with Dave Graber, nose flute player Calvin Hoe, and Jazz Alley TV Trio featuring Gene ...

Santana

February 21, 2013

"It's like heaven on earth," says Carlos Santana about making a home on Maui. "It's whipped cream."Dividing his time between living on the West side and in Las Vegas where he has an extended residency at the House of Blues, Santana will make his first public concert appearance on our island in about 19 years when he plays the Maui Arts & Cultural Center on Feb. 28.Of all the musicians who rose to prominence in the late 1960s, only a handful continue to perform with the extraordinary passion and vitality expressed by this legendary musician. Santana has continued to fuel hearts and ...

Shaw & Blades

February 14, 2013

Best known for his guitar playing and singing in the classic rock group Styx, Tommy Shaw in recent years has teamed with Night Ranger's Jack Blades to record a couple of albums, compose songs with artists like Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne, and present occasional shows.Shaw played Maui with Styx in 2008 and the enthusiastic reception back then prompted him to return on Feb. 23 for an acoustic show with Blades in the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's McCoy Studio Theater."It was one of the coolest audiences we've ever played for," Tommy Shaw reports. "They were so into it and dancing in the ...

Fleetwood @ the macc

February 7, 2013

Mick Fleetwood will appear in an intimate, talk-story format and perform with the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band Wednesday night in Castle Theater at Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului.This Fleetwood @ the MACC show will feature the legendary drummer in the first half of the program talking about his early musical influences, the rise of Fleetwood Mac, and his insights into the band's classic songs.For the second half of the show, Mick will join bandmates guitarist/vocalist Rick Vito, bassist Lenny Castellanos and keyboardist Mark Johnstone for a night of rocking blues encompassing ...

Gritty Blues

January 31, 2013

It's going to be a memorable night on Feb. 8, when legendary Door's keyboardist Ray Manzarek makes his Maui debut with slide-guitar great Roy Rogers at the Historic Iao Theater in Wailuku.These two masters will rock the house with an electrifying sound they've termed "modern 21st-century blues.""It's great playing with Roy Rogers, he's brilliant, one of America's top slide-guitar players," says The Door's co-founder Manzarek. "He knows the blues and I know the blues. We both come together in a common place. People say, 'what the heck is Ray Manzarek from the Doors doing with Roy Rogers ...