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Posted on: Friday, June 20, 2008
Na Leo targets hula with yesteryear moodBy Wayne Harada Distinguishing notes: Nalani Choy, Lehua Kalima Heine and Angela Morales — Na Leo — continue to be masters of their craft. This album collates a few classic Hawaiian tunes alongside a crop of tropical niceties reflecting a bygone era. The orientation is toward hula — many of the cuts are suitable for dancing, but plain listening is OK, too."Do the Hula" is a stroll down memory lane, when hula was all about maidens in grass skirts, making humuhumunukunukuapua'a motions amid grass-hut imagery, set to a swinging, light-jazz beat. "Pupu Hinuhinu" is a reinterpretation, Na Leo style, of the Nona Beamer signature, creating a new version for a new generation of youngsters who may learn the tune — a brew that still retains a simple and sweet mood. "I Ola Kakou Na Hawai'i" and "Lei 'Awapuhi" are joyously traditional, the latter with Heine soloing with sheer grace. And if you want to get the ol' ticker going, check out "E Huli Ho'i Mai," which is territorial in spirit (hear that, Harry B. Soria Jr.?) with backyard lu'au-style chalangalang arrangement and delivery. "Kipu Kai," the Bill Kaiwa classic, is also a charmer with more old-school mana'o. Two more hula-driven items should also be flagged: "Pua Mae'ole" and "Pua Tuberose," both with floral orientation.
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