Sal Godinez Jr., known for inspiring a love for music in those around him, will be honored on March 27 at Kihei Charter School.

One of Maui’s most accomplished and beloved musicians, Salvador Godinez Jr., passed on March 9 at the age of 74. A celebration of life will be held to honor him at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, at the Kihei Charter School on the rooftop terrace.

Versatile in many genres, he was once highlighted in a New York Times article on Maui spotlighting his playing at the Four Seasons Resort at Wailea.

Before he delved into jazz, Godinez was initially passionate about playing classical music and began taking lessons from a piano teacher from Mexico.

“I started when I was around two and a half, and my brothers and sisters ended up following in my footsteps,” he recalled in a Maui News interview. “All I played was classical music.”

His sister Estaire Godinez remembered how “as children he inspired us all with his love for music. Our parents always had music playing at home, Agustín Lara, Los Panchos, trios and mariachis. Then his love for Sergio Mendes, and Brasil ’66 just highlighted everything. You can hear all of those sounds that have influenced him in his music, and his lyrics, so passionate and heartfelt.”

Sal Godinez Jr.

The oldest of nine brothers and sisters from Oakland, California, he moved to Maui in 1983. He was working at Caesar’s Lake Tahoe when his brother Carlos Godinez called him from Maui. “He said, ‘Our band leader is leaving for three weeks. You want to come front the band for a while?’ So I bought a one-way ticket.”

A long collaboration playing keyboards with Amy Hānaiali’i began at the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua. “She had gotten back from college and was auditioning there,” said Godinez. “Her thing back then was musical theater and Whitney Houston.”

“The old Ritz-Carlton days, it was just the two of us, five hours a night, five days for five years,” Hānaiali’i recalled. “It was really a magical time.”

When she teamed with Willie K, Godinez began recording with the couple.

He played on several albums, including “Nostalgia,” and her most recent recording “Kalawai’anui.” “Sal is just that quintessential musician,” she said. “He could play Spanish music so well and classical music so well, but then that touch on jazz was just his own style. I spent some time with him towards the end. He was a very deeply spiritual man, and we connected very much on that level.”

Hānaiali’i said she really misses his creative input in her music. “I’m working on a new project and I needed that piano intro, that Sal take on it,” she explained. “I went to visit him at Hale Makua and he was laughing at me. We’re laughing because I’m like I really need you to help me figure out these chords, those magical Sal chords.”

Other significant recordings he played on included Hapa’s “In the Name of Love,” Buddy Fo’s “Signature,” Kumu Hula Kamaka Kukona’s third album, “Kahekeonāpua,” John Cruz’s “It’s Time to Build a Bridge” and Tarvin Makia’s “Makia Kalikimaka.” Among his more unusual gigs, in 2018, he performed in Makawao with Grammy-nominated Tibetan flute player Nawang Khechog.

While playing at the Four Seasons, he met several music legends such as Burt Bacharach and Tony Bennett, who was intrigued hearing Godinez playing Django Reinhardt’s “Nuage.”

Later, playing with John Cruz, he recalled an epic gig on Mauna Kea. “Back in 2019, John Cruz, Amy and a few other Hawaiian acts were touring the Big Island. We drove to Kona, and on the way over, we stopped and performed for the Hawaiian protesters at Mauna Kea. It was absolutely beautiful.”

He recently formed the Godinez Family Trio with brother Felipe and Estaire Godinez, specializing in Latin and Brazilian-flavored jazz.

Among musicians posting remembrances, Marty Dread wrote: “He made the Maui music scene a richer experience. We all got together to do a benefit for him in October at Nalu’s in Kihei. No one expected him to show up, but he not only showed up and made several speeches, but he played piano for the better part of the night and when he was done, he thanked everyone and left.”

Kaulana Kanekoa commented, “Another huge hole left in the Maui music world.” And former Maui resident Georja Skinner posted: “Back in the ’80s when I was the entertainment director at the Maui Marriott, I hired Sal and eventually his sister and brother to be the house jazz band. All the way through the years that followed, I will always remember his warmth, talent and the twinkle in his eyes.”