Beautiful, smooth music will resonate across Maui next Monday as the Arts Education for Children Group (AECG) presents the second annual Jazz Maui music festival. Jazz Maui doesn’t simply showcase concerts, but also allows local music students to participate in workshops under the leadership of artists like Tommy James, the music director of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
The week-long event will begin with a series (led by James) about big band swing, a vocals workshop led by Shari Lynn and a horn workshop led by trumpet player Valery Ponomarev. At the end of the week, there will be performances by these same artists as well as Amy Hanaiali’i, the Na Ali’i Big Band and the King Kekaulike Jazz Band.
“It’s kind of this fully complete circle in the sense that these kids get the chance to work with these really incredible instructors and then see them and hear them play and, in a lot of cases, even being able to play alongside of them,” said Jazz Maui founder Bryant Neal.
Neal thinks that the students and youth who participate in these workshops (at little to no cost) benefit exponentially from the program because they can bring these experiences into their professional lives and even beyond that. “Local students get a chance to spend three days with [James] in workshops and clinics on Maui, in their domain, that they don’t have to spend any money on so that, to me, really, truly says it all,” Neal said.
These workshops were made possible by AECG combining resources with the high school band departments at King Kekaulike and Baldwin, which is where the seminars will be held. “We don’t have enough money to rent schools and round up all these kids,” Neal said. “Their programs don’t have the money to go out and bring these people in and do that sort of thing so, by us teaming together, it’s like this ultimate everything working together.”
After the last workshop wraps up, Amy Hanaiali’i, five-time Grammy nominated artist and Hawaii’s top selling female vocalist of all time, will kick off the concert series with a performance in the Anuenue Room at the Ritz Carlton on Thursday, July 31. “One of the first jobs that [Hanaiali’i] had professionally was working at the Ritz Carlton,” Neal said. “It’s where she broke in her chops, so it’s kind of a homecoming concert for her.”
Hanaiali’i said she is thrilled to finally have the opportunity to perform in the Anuenue Room again. “It was the first place where I really started to hone my craft and really find my voice,” she said. “[The Ritz Carlton] takes me back in time to when I first started my career, that’s why the evening is going to be very special to me and I think that will relay over to the audience as well.”
Clifford Nae’ole, the Ritz Carlton’s cultural adviser, is one of the many people eagerly awaiting Hanaiali’i’s return. “She literally grew up in the Anuenue Room,” Nae’ole said. “This is an absolutely great setting for her to come back in and show off her new talents. She’s funny, she’s a local girl at heart and she knows when to turn things on. Her voice and her attitude on stage are magical.”
Though most people know her for her Hawaiian music, Hanaiali’i stays true to her roots in Jazz and R&B. Hanaiali’i aspires to move the crowd just as famous classical artists (such as one of her personal favorites, Etta James) once did. “Those are the kinds of songs that you remember what perfume you were wearing, who you were dating,” she said. “Those are classic songs.”
Audience members will be able to experience these classic sounds and songs throughout the Jazz Maui festival. Following Hanaiali’i’s performance on Aug. 1, Ponomarev, Lynn and James will take the stage at Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s McCoy Studio Theater for Jazz Maui All Stars.
There will also be free concerts in Ka’anapali at the Whalers Village Center Stage throughout the festival, which will include performances by local groups of students and community members.
The final performance of the festival will feature an orchestra comprised of members of Nassau Suffolk Performing Arts, the Moonglow All-Star Swing Band and Maui Community Band, all coming together under the direction of James for the Grand Festival Concert & Dance at the Sheraton Maui.
“A lot of this stuff is free but to make it work, it’s about people coming out and supporting it,” Neal said. “I refer to this whole thing as music with a purpose. Concerts, music, everything we do–at the end result, it’s more than just the music experience.”
Jazz Maui allows locals and tourists alike to relish in the enriching qualities of the arts and the festival itself aims to produce more appreciation for music and each other. “A lot of the settings turn into a social, cultural exchange,” Neal said. “Music is a language that everybody can use to transcend barriers of any and all sorts.”
Jazz is a particularly special genre of music, especially to the promoters of this festival. “Jazz just kind of takes you to another place,” Nae’ole said. “It’s something that you can dance to, something that you can listen to, something you can eat to, so Jazz encompasses the whole feelings of the heart.”
SCHEDULE
Monday, July 28 and Tuesday, July 29
The Story of Swing Big Band Workshop with Tommy James
Free. 6:30pm. King Kekaulike High School (121 Kula Hwy., Pukalani)
Wednesday, July 30
Jazz Maui 2014 Master Class Series- Vocals with Shari Lynn
$25. 5pm. Baldwin High School (1650 Ka’ahumanu Ave., Wailuku)
Jazz Maui 2014 Master Class Series- Horns with Valery Ponomarev
$25. 5pm. Baldwin High School (1650 Ka’ahumanu Ave., Wailuku)
Thursday, July 31
Amy Hanaiali’i Live at the Anuenue Room: A Homecoming Celebration Concert
$45. 7pm. The Ritz Carlton (1 Ritz Carlton Dr., Kapalua)
Chop Suey & King Kekaulike Jazz Band
Free. 6pm. Whalers Village Center Stage (2435 Ka’anapali Pkwy.)
Friday, Aug. 1
Jazz Maui All Stars featuring Valery Ponomarev with Shari Lynn and Tommy James
$30. 7:30pm. Maui Arts & Cultural Center (1 Cameron Way, Kahului)
Coco Land Jazz
Free. 6pm. Whalers Village Center Stage (2435 Ka’anapali Pkwy.)
Saturday, Aug. 2
Grand Festival Concert & Dance: The Story of Swing Big Band Concert
$35. 7pm. Sheraton Maui (2605 Ka’anapali Pkwy.)
Sunday, Aug. 3
21 Degrees North & Na Ali’i Big Band
Free. 6pm. Whalers Village Center Stage (2435 Ka’anapali Pkwy.)
For more information about Jazz Maui or to purchase tickets, call 808-283-3576 or visit their website here.
– Ashley Probst (@ashprobsticle)
Photo of Valery Ponomarev courtesy of Katie McMillan
Comments
comments