Waikiki's gathering place of seniors offers music as man's ultimate human gift

Seniors entertain tourists and residents alike in Waikiki

If you are aiming for a Waikiki experience that will take you back in time to those good old days, stop on the beach side of Kalakaua Avenue on Oahu in Hawaii, sit down on a bench under a covered umbrella and become part of a local community who brings the best of Hawaii to visitors no matter who they are.  Travel back in time with the seniors who will take you on a magic journey of paradise as it was and still is in the songs that light up the islands with their bright melodies.

In Hawaii the seniors have traditions they share with tourists. You can never predict for sure when a gathering of these special people will arrive and entertain, who bring their ukeleles, music and traditions to this place in Waikiki. The weekends bring the folks in for the authentic play of paradise you just don't want to miss on any visit to the Oahu beaches of Waikiki.

Having lived in Hawaii for many years, I have learned how meaningful these gatherings are to local folk and those who return for the visits after they have left. It is here where through the songs and stories on these benches in the sun that people learn about Hawaii from these elders while they reminisce.

Sit down at a table, as people make room for friends and strangers alike, and share Hawaiian aloha in that old-fashioned way. It begins with a man with a ukelele singing a Don Ho song. The strains of Pearly Shells brings a chorus of voices, along with a band of ukeles. This is the place where people can perform for others and enjoy the applause just like those good old days. Folks retired now spontaneously entertain each other and the tourists that gather round and applaud the talents of the old folks, whose energy often can outpace the very young entertainers who play in the bars and restaurants of Waikiki.

The gathering place for these wonderful occasions take place are on Kalakaua Avenue, a short walk from any direction from the main tourist hotels. A large sheltered area sits apart from all the rest. You recognize the older people with their gaily floral clothes. The old-timers dress the way you would expect them to on a sunny day in Hawaii, especially since it's a time they entertain each other and entertain you too.

They come from every ethnic group, these elders of Hawaii. They will swap stories with you, teach you a song or two or just ask you to sit down and listen and enjoy the moment as part of a crowd that gathers there in Waikiki on almost any afternoon.

These elders sing of old Hawaii, but mostly songs that are referred to as hapa-Haole, that is Hawaiian music with English words so you will know the words. You'll almost always hear a famous song of Kui Lee, who died too young but contributed many songs that tourists often know. Elvis Presley performed some of Kui Lee's songs in that string of movies made in Hawaii. One of them is I'll Remember You, a perennial favorite of the group that gathers at these tables, reminiscing as they sing the song and tell you about this famous musician many remember well. That musician, Kui Lee, is the one who helped catapult Don Ho to fame.

Some of the elders are the beach boys, many who still sit on the beaches as they have done for decades, and who come and join the group. Their numbers are dwindling now, as the old-timers have died, aged too much or moved away over the years. But the ones who still come to these magic moments on the beach bring all those stories of Hawaii, of the days of sprawling beaches before all the hotels were built and of cruise ships that brought people from afar.

This simple way of enjoying the aloha spirit is an authentic way to meet Hawaii in all its special ways. Here is the famous Waikiki beach where swimming and sunning takes place. Here is where the surfers take their boards and vanish into waves to the rhythm of the sea and winds that only they seem to hear. The palm trees, sand, and sunshine mix with the old music, hulas, and 

brightly dressed elders of every race.  That vision of the best in relationships is the best of a tourist experience, that local folks enjoy as well, and an ongoing symbol of why Hawaii is called the Gathering Place, as it is the place that symbolizes man's ultimate human gifts

Ukelele and accordion set new pathways in modern music

[caption id="attachment_14035" align="alignleft" width="300"] "Magic Fluke" and accordion[/caption]

“Play beer barrel polka”has often been the first request heard by accordionists.   That’s because in the world of music, accordions and ukuleles have been considered the “bastard” children, outside the mainstream of guitars, pianos and horns of different types; but some innovators, and innovations, have moved these instruments to a spotlight of respect which has been long overdue.

Many Americans consider accordions relevant for polka music.  They visualize the old man sitting on a stoop somewhere or someone wearing a folk-style costume playing for change at an ethnic festival. Surely those activities remain a part of accordion culture, but that is only one segment of its music that accommodates a variety of styles in many parts of the world.

In Ireland, the button accordion is very much a part of Celtic music.  The button accordion is a member of an instrumental family that developed in the early part of the nineteenth century.  Its music comes from the air blown across the pairing of metal reeds.   When the air is blown across from bellows, these metal reeds then vibrate, creating a variety of music notes.

In the United States both Cajun and Zydeco music encompass the accordion as an intimate part of the typical band.  The Cajuns originally migrated to America from France, but gradually, in seeking assimilation, adopted the stringed instruments that pervaded music during the 1920’s and 30’s.  Prior to this the Cajuns had so many years of deprivation, indeed losing much of their music and folk instruments, as they fled to new and sometimes hostile environments, they were unable to produce their music in the old ways.    A Cajun revival began in the late 1940’s with Iry LeJeune, Lawrence Walker and Nathan Abshire,  at the helm.  War veterans were also attracted to the style of music represented by accordionists of the time, as they sought traditional music as a way of finding solace and structure provided by the old-style music.

Zydeco music has its origins with the Creoles of color of Louisiana,  most of whom had African American lineage, who adopted some of the Cajun style to their own flavor of blues and a hand-clapping, heavy beat that continues to attract folks of many cultures.  Both the Cajuns and the Creoles emulated patterns from each other, thus forming bonds that continue to exist between these “brother” groups, at least in history.

The accordion has now been adopted into rock bands, folk music groups and a host of other venues, proving its adaptability and flexibility for music of many types.

The Portuguese are very much a part of Hawaii’s history, as many of the early settlers from this ethnic group provided their own flavor of music to the stew that exists in the islands.  A man by the name of Joao Fernande delighted local folk in the late 1800’s with a small, guitar-like instrument with five strings.    With several friends, Fernande created an even smaller instrument that is now called the ukulele, that over the years has been refined, updated and strengthened by various musical groups and artisans.  It’s history, however, is Hawaiian, as the Portuguese were a major immigrant group that produced the foundational core of the islands.

In the United States mainland, the ukulele was considered quaint by many, as they listened to Arthur Godrey play the solid up-down rhythm of what was contemporary music of the 1940’s and 50’s, with a different tuning than that used in Hawaii.  That “D” tuning remains a favorite way of emulating guitar chords so that the players of either instrument could readily adapt to the other.  On the other hand, the “purists” remain in Hawaii where the “C” tuning is considered standard and the chords enough from the guitar that the transfer from one to the other is not as easy to do.

Now the uke struts its stuff with a variety of musicians, both traditional and non traditional, finding their audience everywhere.  In Hawaii Israel Kamakawiwioole   is virtually the king of the ukulele accompanists, as he took his own version over “Over the Rainbow” and made it not just a standard in Hawaii but on the mainland and in other parts of the world.

The ukulele is realizing new popularity, as people learn of its potential.  Joan Baez and Peter Frampton both learned to play stringed instruments from learning first the ukulele.   It is often referred to as the “happy instrument” and in fact has been used to bring Israeli and Palestinian children together by an organization called “Ukeleles for Peace.”

Welcome to the world where musicians are combining instruments in new patterns for music, as is demonstrated here by playing the ukulele and accordion together in a rendition of a familiar, modern piece usually played by orchestra, guitar or piano, called “You Lift Me Up," with the words in one verse an adaptation for the audience. It features the  Magic Fluke" and a  custom-designed, one-of-a-kind accordion.