The anniversary of Whitney Houston’s death is coming up on Feb 12th. On the 7th, Mike Lewis and I are producing a show of her music featuring myself along with a few fresh faces at the Blue Note in Waikiki. I will be using my many years of performance savvy and vocal ability to bring as much of her depth and emotion to her countless hits and masterful recordings. She was iconic not only...
Al Jarreau was an iconic jazz vocalese artist who crossed over into pop music, getting major exposure through airplay and record industry support in the 0's and 80's. Those were the days! He was a once-in-a-lifetime talent, combining crooning with scatting adding percussive sounds into the mix and voila! The vocal achievements of Al Jarreau! He had an international appeal, mostly in part to...
My world is pretty hot! How about yours? Heating up more than a little? You would think, that after a solid forty years of showing out in this town and beyond, that I would be cooked by now! But to that I loudly exclaim, "No way!" I am still frying up a little 'sumthin-sumthin' with no signs of shriveling up in the blazing hot sun. My latest solar flare is at the Blue Note Hawaii, former home...
Even after 40-plus years of performing, writing, recording, and producing, I have so much "music in me" (Kiki Dee, 1970's). If you look at my schedule, you will see that I am actively involved with Stage Restaurant in the Honolulu Design Center on Kapiolani. If you miss tonight's performance side by side with some of my amazing musician/singer friends (Patrick Von Wiegandt, Pierre Grill, Duane...
I am always saddened when friends, family, and icons leave this mortal existence. Losing Prince to the dangerous painkiller Fentanyl was devastating. He was an icon whose music touched us all in more ways than I can mention here. But I am particularly disturbed by the loss of a Hawaii Jazz icon named Jimmy Borges. His career as a Jazz singer here in Hawaii spans 5-plus decades, and his battle...
E Komo Mai! Welcome to Hawaii, Blue Note! We are happy you decided to bring your entertainment brand to our Hawai'i . As one of many jazz artists here in Alohaland, I personally want to thank you for bumping up the volume on the Waikiki music scene. We have been in need of a world-class venue such as yours, and hope that you will not only maintain the highest level of integrity that is...
I was recently honored by an esteemed academy with a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Best Christmas CD!! What a thrilling moment it was to hear my name announced as the winner!! But everyone who participated in the making of this archival CD is a winner right alongside me. So after I thanked The Lord Jesus Christ for finding me worthy of this blessing, and after I sent love to my husband and my...
I'm in Cleveland to produce his second CD, "Never Before"...due for release in June 2015! For more info, see www.nighttowncleveland.com
I was bothered by the report / 'news spin' vilifying Robin Thicke and Pharrell. They were accused of plagiarising the Marvin Gaye song, "Got to Give it Up". Oddly enough, the song "Blurred Lines" uses the same beat, but the similarities kinda end there. The boys used a different melody and lyrics, and the cord changes are the same, but used in slightly different patterns. Last time I checked,...