Keith Nakaganeku & Calabash Hawaiian Jazz Done Asian Style
	Record Label: KKN Productions Catalog #: KKN 2006 Barcode: 7 04565 71282 7 List Price: $ 16.98 Release Date: September 19, 2006 Configuration: Compact Disc
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Track Listing: (click links for audio samples)
1) Ka Lei E 2) Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai 3) Green Rose Hula 4) Blue Darlin' 5) Shores of Haleiwa 6) Hawaii, I Long For You Today	7) Japanese Medley - Kimi to Itsumade mo/Koko ni Sachi Ari 8) Katami Bushi 9) Asadoya Yunta 10) Umi no Uta (featuring Eisho Higa from Begin) 11) In This Life 12) Ke Lana Nei

Product Description

For his debut CD, Hawaiian Jazz Done Asian Style, Keith Nakaganeku (who was the 1st Runner Up
in the 2002 Frank B. Shaner Falsetto Contest), backed by his band, Calabash, has brought together
a rich network of talent both in front of the microphone and behind the scenes. In Hawaii, the word
"Calabash" often refers to close friends who are regarded as part of one's family.

Nakaganeku has called upon his calabash "family" of entertainers and notables in the local music industry
to help him launch a debut CD that is both unique yet familiar. Well-known local producer Lester Gantan
lends a steady and guiding hand to the overall CD, while notable island musicians performing on various
tracks include Gail Mack, Greg Sardinha, Anthony Natividad, Dave Choy, Tim Tsukiyama,
Harold Chang, Fred Oshiro and Rod Esteban.

Also appearing on the CD is Eisho Higa of the Japanese super group Begin. The group wrote the song
"Nada Sou Sou", which is highly regarded in the music industry and a song that Keali'i Reichel recorded
in Hawaiian and won the Hoku's Song of the Year two years ago. Eisho Higa, Begin's lead singer, lends
his vocal talents in a duet with Nakaganeku on Umi no Uta. You will be moved by Nakaganeku's vocals
in the Hawaiian rendition of this song, Ke Lana Nei.

Hawaiian Jazz Done Asian Style, appropriately titled, is exactly what gives the CD its familiar-yet-unique flavor.
Nakaganeku and the band, Calabash, entice listeners with a jazzy touch that is soothing to the ear. Nakaganeku
and Calabash also wanted to reinvigorate familiar local songs such as "Ka Lei E", "Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai",
"Green Rose Hula", "Blue Darlin'" and "In This Life". Calabash members include Kyle Oyasato (guitar and Ichigo Ichi E),
Lester Gantan (keyboards), Charta Leong (bass) and Reynson Au (drums).

What gives these songs an edgy feel is the group's use of ethnic instruments such as the Japanese Koto,
Okinawan Shanshin, Hawaiian Nose Flute and the Ichi Go Ichi E, a Japanese lute invented by Begin. Nakaganeku,
who is a third-generation Okinawan, is a teacher of the Okinawan Sanshin, a three-stringed instrument similar to
the Japanese Shamisen. With a grandfather who was a master of the Sanshin, a mother and father who played
in the Shochiku Orchestra, and an Uncle who took him to jam sessions with Gabby Pahinui at the old Evergreen Bar
on Kapiolani Boulevard in Honolulu, is it any wonder that his exposure to all different styles of music would later be
reflected in his own.

In all, Keith Nakaganeku's Hawaiian Jazz Done Asian Style is a wonderful and exciting introduction to a fresh and
promising new voice on the local music scene.