Taj Mahal with Ry Cooder – Statesboro Blues

February 14, 2015 at 11:30 am

Irene Tukuafu’s Cherry Wood Banjo With Abalone Inlay

February 13, 2015 at 11:30 am

“My Tenor Banjo is made of cherry wood & there are some places that are walnut in the neck and peg head. I used some wood inlay for the side with some added crushed turquoise with epoxy glue then sanded that down. It’s easier to use abalone shell. This shell is gotten from Aqua Blue Maui LLC. WONDERFUL FOLKS to work with and their process of making abalone shell into a product that can be used easily….WOW. They have a great website and sooooooooo many colors to choose from. This shell that I’m using is from N.Z. but there are abalone shells from all over the world. They make it into the thin even stuff that is not even as thick as a credit card and can be cut by scissors. All made there in Maui. And yes, I did inlay this abalone shell. I used super glue to make sure it stays where I put it.

So often a banjo overrules a small group of musicians. That’s one reason why I like this style as it’s not too loud. I used Baritone Ukulele strings on this banjo as that is the tuning. It’s also called “Chicago tuning”…really it’s just the last 4 strings of a guitar. Easy to play and enjoy. Not as heavy as your brother’s Tenor Banjo. There are two other tunings that can be used with this banjo, making it very playable to folks who play other instruments.…”

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Bruddah Iz

February 1, 2015 at 10:48 pm

California Dreamin’ by Diana Krall

February 1, 2015 at 10:18 pm

Diana Krall’s new album Wallflower is beautiful. Here are 2 songs:

California Dreamin' by Diana Krall – www.musicasparabaixar.org on Grooveshark

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word by Diana Krall – www.musicasparabaixar.org on Grooveshark

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Local Food, Local Music

January 26, 2015 at 8:51 am

By way of asking around in Waimea (southern part of Kauai, where I’ve come today), I went to the Kaleheo Steaks & Ribs restaurant tonight, had a half order of baby back ribs with Hawaiian cole slaw, two local beers, and listened to local band Waiola do a bunch of covers (a perfect rendition of Percy Sledges’ “When a Man Loves a Woman”), and then a stunning Hawaiian song where the singer hit impossibly high falsetto notes, the occasional yodel, and the maybe 25 customers were cheering.

This is out of chronological sequence with my trip, but I’ll backtrack when I can.

The southern part of Kauai is WAY different than the northern part.

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Little Stevie Wonder, Live at Age 12, on Bongos and Harmonica

January 13, 2015 at 11:30 am

I posted this last April, and just listened to it again. It’s so good I’m putting it up again, along with this description:

“Written and composed by Wonder’s mentors, Clarence Paul and Henry Cosby, “Fingertips” was originally a jazz instrumental recorded for Wonder’s first studio album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie. The live version of the song was recorded in June 1962 during a Motortown Revue performance at the Regal Theater in Chicago, Illinois. Containing only a few stanzas of lyrics, “Fingertips” is essentially an instrumental piece, meant to showcase Wonder’s talents on the bongos and the harmonica.”

After this, I listened to Stevie much later in life, doing this duet with Ray Charles:

Brandy, A Great Song, A Powerful Waterfall

December 24, 2014 at 8:49 pm

So much is going on in my life right now, I haven’t got around to many posts of late. I need a clone (or maybe an apprentice), then I could keep the pub biz running, go fishing/clamming/crabbing, surf and paddle, hunt mushrooms, make knives (with Russell made-in America carbon steel blades and madrone handles, do the maintenance around the homestead, go on a kayak adventure I’ve got planned, walk the 10-mile sandy beach in Pt. Reyes, spend a week in Santa Cruz…it goes on…

Monday night on the way home I bought a bottle of Germain-Robin made-in-Ukiah brandy, then stopped off at the Sweetwater nightclub. It was local musicians night and there was a couple on the stage, a guy with acoustic guitar and a curly-haired girl, singing a duet. Jeez, did they sound good. They were doing “Let’s Stay Together,” one of my all-time faves, by Al Green, and they had it right. They were at the same time both channelling Al and giving it their own beautiful interpretation. The guy hit Al’s high note “I just cain’t see-ee-ee…,” the girl sang beautiful harmony. They were called Come Around Babe. I think they’re a brand new group, can’t find this song anywhere online. Here’s Al:

Let's Stay Together by Al Green on Grooveshark

It was around 10 when I started home and I went to my magic waterfall, took a couple shots of brandy, clothes off, and ducked under it. What’s usually a trickle was a pounding torrent, the full power of the mountain. It’s such a simple thing to do, the cold shock gives way to elation as soon as you’re out…oh boy am I glad I did this…I didn’t even play the radio on the way home, as “Let’s Stay Together” played over and over in my head…