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ENLARGE
Leokane Pryor, left, and Boom Helekahi perform Hawaiian music Saturday.
For the many individuals in this community who appreciate all things Hawaiian, the Home Malanai Š My Journey Home concert by Leokane Pryor Saturday is a much anticipated event.
Several elements are coming together. Not only will Pryor sing in his extraordinary angelic falsetto from his new album, accompanied by his California ensemble Pohai Kealoha and special guest Boom Helekahi, but dancers will perform the traditional hula. Also, concert attendees will have holiday treats to eat and handmade Hawaiian-style gifts to purchase.
Several elements are coming together. Not only will Pryor sing in his extraordinary angelic falsetto from his new album, accompanied by his California ensemble Pohai Kealoha and special guest Boom Helekahi, but dancers will perform the traditional hula. Also, concert attendees will have holiday treats to eat and handmade Hawaiian-style gifts to purchase.
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at The Center for the Arts in downtown Grass Valley; doors open at 6 p.m.
In "Home Malanai," Pryor chronicles his love and rediscovery of Hawaiian music from his birth and childhood in O'ahu's mystical Manoa Valley, through many years of schooling and life in the Bay Area of California, to his eventual return to his native Hawaii. Fond memories of childhood visits to his family's ranch in Kipahulu near Hana, Maui, brought Pryor back many years later to rediscover Hana, where in 2001 he purchased property he named Malanai for its gentle, easterly breezes. Known as the last Hawaiian place, Hana is truly one of the few areas of Hawaii where the "spirit of aloha" continues to exist - through its beauty and rich Hawaiian culture.
"This CD is the completion of my long journey back to what I love: Hawaii, the pristine land, its people, its culture and most especially its music," says Pryor. It includes original ballads, as well as traditional songs from old Hawaii, and will be available in early December at www.Leokane.com or www.Mele.com.
In "Home Malanai," Pryor chronicles his love and rediscovery of Hawaiian music from his birth and childhood in O'ahu's mystical Manoa Valley, through many years of schooling and life in the Bay Area of California, to his eventual return to his native Hawaii. Fond memories of childhood visits to his family's ranch in Kipahulu near Hana, Maui, brought Pryor back many years later to rediscover Hana, where in 2001 he purchased property he named Malanai for its gentle, easterly breezes. Known as the last Hawaiian place, Hana is truly one of the few areas of Hawaii where the "spirit of aloha" continues to exist - through its beauty and rich Hawaiian culture.
"This CD is the completion of my long journey back to what I love: Hawaii, the pristine land, its people, its culture and most especially its music," says Pryor. It includes original ballads, as well as traditional songs from old Hawaii, and will be available in early December at www.Leokane.com or www.Mele.com.
Tickets for $18 may be purchased in advance by calling (530) 271-7000 or by visiting www.thecenterforthearts.org or at BriarPatch Co-op in Grass Valley, Yabobo in Nevada City and Cherry Records in Auburn. At the door tickets are $20.
Call Alison Olsen at 271-5740 for information regarding the local hula dance group.
Call Alison Olsen at 271-5740 for information regarding the local hula dance group.
The falsetto voice was a pre-European style of chant, or Oli. It could have been used for dramatic effect to convey the Hawaiian myths and stories, or Mele. The hula is the sign language. All aspects of Hawaiian culture were passed from generation to generation through the spoken word or were chanted and illustrated by the hula.
The falsetto or Leo ki`e ki`e was encouraged by the missionaries as the Hawaiians began to accept Christianity and the singing of hymns. This vocal style also has roots in the yodeling of the Mexican cowboys or paniolos of Northern California in the early 1800s. Imported to teach the Hawaiians how to tend cattle, these early cowboys were the source of the guitars that the Hawaiians played in the style that has come to be known as slack-key or Kiho`alu. Falsetto is revered by the Hawaiians just as the Irish love their tenors and the Italians their operatic baritones.
- Contributed by Michael Keene, who hosts "Kani ka pila" (literally, Let the Music Begin; colloquially, a backyard jam session) every Sunday, 9 a.m. to noon, on KVMR 89.5FM. The program has been on the air for 15 years.
The falsetto or Leo ki`e ki`e was encouraged by the missionaries as the Hawaiians began to accept Christianity and the singing of hymns. This vocal style also has roots in the yodeling of the Mexican cowboys or paniolos of Northern California in the early 1800s. Imported to teach the Hawaiians how to tend cattle, these early cowboys were the source of the guitars that the Hawaiians played in the style that has come to be known as slack-key or Kiho`alu. Falsetto is revered by the Hawaiians just as the Irish love their tenors and the Italians their operatic baritones.
- Contributed by Michael Keene, who hosts "Kani ka pila" (literally, Let the Music Begin; colloquially, a backyard jam session) every Sunday, 9 a.m. to noon, on KVMR 89.5FM. The program has been on the air for 15 years.
