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Hawaiian music legend Keola Beamer and Moanalani Beamer will perform with Na Hoku Award-winning kumu hula/musician Uluwehi Guerrero on Saturday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center as part of a benefit for Mental Health Kokua. The “Arise – A Film & Music Benefit” will also feature the Makaha Sons.
“It’s an opportunity for me to explore some family music again, particularly the music of my great-grandmother Helen Desha Beamer,” Keola Beamer explains. “And the reason is Uluwehi’s beautiful voice. He has tremendous range, a beautiful vibrato and a terrific soulfulness. Sometimes you’re asked to do a benefit and it ends up benefiting your own work, and this is the case for collaboration with Uluwehi. We’re really having a great time rehearsing. I really respect his depth of knowledge and his deep connection to the culture. It’s been a joy working with him. It’s a nice time in my career to work with an artist as gifted as Uluwehi. And as Moana is a kumu hula and Uluwehi is a kumu hula, and they have this beautiful hula element in common.”
“I was elated when Keola asked me to be in the concert with him,” says Guerrero. “I’ve been doing projects with him for the past several years at his Aloha Music Camp. It’s one of the things I look forward to every year.”
This year’s event will include the world premiere of the short documentary “Haleakala – A Trek for Dignity,” directed by Don Lane and produced by Dr. Tom Vendetti.
Lane is a Maui filmmaker and an advocate for those with mental illness. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, his goal is to hopefully inspire others who have been diagnosed and to let them know that recovery is possible.
“It’s a wonderful film,” says Vendetti. “We took five people with serious mental illness, and we hiked from the top of Haleakala all the way down to Kaupo and we camped at Ohe’o gulch. It’s all about ending stigma towards the mentally ill.”
The short film, which will likely be aired by PBS Hawaii, includes music by Makana and a moving song by Guerrero.
“I wanted to help with the project because one of my family members, my sister, went through a really tough time,” Guerrero explains. “It brought awareness to me of how fragile we are. I couldn’t understand how it got to that point. She didn’t even recognize me; she was in such a dark abyss. It’s about compassion and aloha for everyone, and love is sometimes the best medicine. You can do whatever it takes clinically, but we all have to show aloha to each other.”
At the end of October, Vendetti will travel with Keola and Moanalani Beamer to Nepal to make a new documentary.
“We’re working on a film together,” he explains. “I’ve been invited to document a Mani Rimdu ritual at the Chiwong Monastery in Nepal. The whole premise of the festival is to destroy illusions that lead to human suffering. As a psychologist, I thought it was right up my alley.”
Vendetti’s previous documentaries include “Journey Inside Tibet,” “Mount Kailash: Return to Tibet,” “Bhutan: Taking the Middle Path to Happiness” and “The Quietest Place on Earth,” which premiered at last year’s Mental Health Kokua benefit at the MACC.
“Tom offered me the composer slot,” says Keola Beamer. “He’s given us some trek coaching. It’s going to be funny, two large Hawaiians stumbling around Nepal.”
In August, the acclaimed musician was part of the “Back in the Day” benefit at the Waikiki Shell, joining old friends like Jerry Santos, Henry Kapono and Kalapana.
“The show at the Shell was terrific,” he reports. “We had so much fun. It was particularly rewarding for the artists because we never get to see each other, except in airports and passing.”
And in late January, the Beamers will head out with Kapono for a joint West Coast tour starting in Seattle. Despite their common history, the two musicians only performed together for the first time at the first “Back in the Day” benefit in 2014. They will each perform a set, and then play together.
“We’ve been working on some Beamer Brother’s things and C&K things,” he notes. “We both have a lot of performance experience and we have a really nice tour set up.”
The “Arise” event will open with Jessie Close, a sister of Oscar-winning actress Glenn Close and the author of “Resilience: Two Sisters and a Story of Mental Illness.” She experienced symptoms of severe bipolar disorder in her early 20s, but she was not properly diagnosed until the age of 50.
“Jesse will be the keynote speaker, then we’ll show the film, followed by Keola, Moana and Uluwehi,” Vendetti says. “And the Makaha Sons will perform after an intermission.”
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“Be Here Now” author Ram Dass, along with bestselling author/inspirational teacher Alan Cohen, will host a Sunday Satsang program from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Makawao Union Church. They will be joined by special musical guests Govindas and Radha for devotional chanting.
Govindas and Radha are a husband-and-wife team based at the Bhakti Yoga Shala in Santa Monica, Calif. They uniquely meld ancient Indian mantras with western melodies. Their latest CD, “Kirtan Live!,” captures the spirit and devotion of their community.
Reviewing one of their recordings, LA Yoga Magazine praised: ” ‘Light Inside You: Kirtan Vibrations’ is a gorgeous expression of the devotional practice the husband and wife teach at their studio.”
A Monsoon India dinner buffet will follow the program and is included in the price.
* Admission is $25 cash at the door. Tickets can also be purchased in advance for $20 cash at Maui Kombucha in Haiku, Monsoon India restaurant in Kihei and Island Spirit Yoga in Lahaina.
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The fifth annual Maui Jazz & Blues Festival was a big hit at the Royal Lahaina Resort in Kaanapali on Saturday evening. Covering a spectrum of music, it included the vibrant, flamenco-inspired guitar virtuosity of Strunz & Farah; saxophone legend Donald Harrison leading his ace quartet through a mix of straight-ahead and Afro-New Orleans funk with a taste of James Brown; and guitarist Kenny Neal igniting the crowd with some searing blues.
The Iguanas whipped up some swampy, Latin funk; Grammy winners bassist John Patitucci and guitarist Russell Malone teamed with Harrison for some hot, bebop jazz; and a grand finale with most of the headliners brought the crowd to its feet for the Rebirth Brass Band’s classic “Let’s Go Get ‘Em.”
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We lost one of our most colorful artists Sept. 8 when Piero Resta passed away at the age of 75.
A bright light wherever he traveled, the Italian-born artist was familiar to music fans on Maui back in the early 1980s, running his restaurant in Makawao, which became Casanova Italian Restaurant & Deli, and later operating a cafe in Paia, which became a nexus for jazz and poetry readings. Kahului’s Bistro Casanova has a private dining room named in his honor.
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The Maui Brewing Co. in Kihei will host the Hope Fest Maui music festival on Saturday. This benefit for the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge Hawaii will feature Soul Kitchen, Louis and Lewis, Johnny Ringo, Sweet Trinity, Noa-Zeb Offergeld, Kaliko’s Way, Phillip Smith Jazz and Nestor Ugale.
* The festival will run from 2 to 10 p.m. General admission is $25 in advance ($30 at the door) and $55 ($65 at the door) for VIP. Tickets are available at www.hopefestmaui.com.