I thought these days were over, really behind us. I find it troubling and sad, and most of all annoying. You see, when I see someone, I see the musician first. And when I hosted my first ever online recital, I was pleased to see that as a group, we had nearly every skin color represented – from the more northern strawberry blond and nearly translucent skin to the equatorial espresso skin designed for lots of sun.

I have no doubt that I have been ingrained with biases, and I’m always seeking them in myself, rooting them out, and learning as I go. Toward that end, I want to make crystal clear that my studio is a safe place to express who you are, in a wide variety of ways. If you want to explore your musical heritage, cool! If you want to sing the latest pop tune, cool!

Lastly, I want to give particular honor to Black Musical Culture. All jazz comes from black music. All rock, gospel, hip-hop, and so on – all of them originated in Black culture. So much music we enjoy today can be traced directly back to Black culture. We need to honor them and share their stories. They are the founders of a lot of American music.

Here’s one of my favorites…Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Legend is that she taught Elvis Presley to play guitar. In any case, she’s one of the early ones, and still breathtaking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9a49oFalZE

Sister Rosetta Tharpe- “Didn’t It Rain?” Live 1964

“The most exciting rhythms seem unexpected and complex, the most beautiful melodies simple and inevitable.” ― W.H. Auden

I am so blessed to be part of this project. I even made it onto Mexican TV. I’m on the CD art in the background. Gracias, dear maestro, for bringing us together.

 

MAKALAPUA- Queen Lili`uokalani’s mele inoa (name chant), original melody offering composed by Starr Kalahiki from Starr Kalahiki on Vimeo.

A friend shared this with me and I just had to show it to you all as well!

This mele inoa (name chant) would have been chanted to Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha on the day of her birth. A melody composed by an Italian composer named Carlo Bosetti was attached to the chant and is the melody we collectively sing today. In 2014, my teacher John Signor and I offered the music of Queen Lili`uokalani on the Leeward Community College stage and it was his thought, that I could offer a gift of melody to her name chant, accompany myself on the harp, and open the show with this intention. I did not have this melody up until the day before opening night when someone texted me and asked if I paid my respects at Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum where she and the rest of our Ali`i are buried. I had not, so I went right away, got permission to go down into the crypt, and sang her prayer, “Ke Aloha o Ka Haku,” in the resonant space of that crypt. I felt a jolt of energy behind the pupil of my eyes, and immediately went to my instrument and composed this. It made it’s debut in #theliliuproject in 2014 and was also featured last October, when #manaolahawaii made it’s debut at New York Fashion week 2017.

https://vimeo.com/251497788