Kalima Brothers

At the edge of Waikiki, the ukulele and the piano ware combined to ignite a Hawaiian music revolution. Two innovative Hawaiian musicians, Jesse Kalima and Richard Kauhi, became Hawaiian music legends.

Jesse Kaleihia Andre Kalima was born in Honolulu on October 31, 1920. Jesse was the oldest of three brothers and a sister born to a Hawaiian Portuguese named Jesse Andre, and his pure Hawaiian wife Amy Pakiko. Jesse Andre died while all of his children were still quite young. Amy remarried, and she and all of her children became Kalima's.
Jesse's mother Amy often performed with the great Hawaiian vocalist Lena Machado, so at the age of six her young Sonny was taught to dance the hula and play the ukulele. His first performances were from the back of a truck at Territorial political rallies.

The boys first learned marches in the local American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps. Later, at Farrington High School, Jesse played the saxophone in the Kalihi area school band. He enjoyed playing Stars and Stripes Forever, Under the Double Eagle, and other marches. Soon, Jesse was transferring these melodies to his ukulele - making the four strings sound like six.

Jesse Kalima burst upon the Hawaiian music scene at age 15 when he entered and won The Hawaii Amateur Ukulele Championship in 1935. He had taught his brother Albert to accompany him on a stand-up bass while he performed his own arrangement of Stars and Stripes Forever on his ukulele. The victory in 1935 landed Jesse a professional gig at the Princess Theatre Potluck Show.

Jesse soon taught his youngest brother Willard Honey to play the guitar, and by 1939 the Kalima Brothers were a musical group. Their cousin, Daniel Junior Kaho'opi'i, was recruited to sing and play maracas. He was dubbed Junior Kalima, and became another Kalima Brother. Steel guitarist Julian Gasper and pianist Henry Mucha rounded out the Kalima Brothers group. As all of the band members began to add considerable weight to their large frames, they were eventually nicknamed 1,000 Pounds of Melody.

In 1942, the Kalima Brothers had built a solid following around Honolulu. Jesse and his bride, Dorothy, purchased a home at 256 Wai Nani Way in Waikiki. The 2-bedroom home at the end of the little lane near Kapi'olani Park served as the practice studio and home base for the Kalima Brothers, as well as the residence for another generation of six Kalima children. As Honolulu's wartime population soared in 1942, the band was in demand and so were able bodied young men. When Henry Mucha was drafted into military service the Kalima Brothers needed a new piano player.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring community of Kapahulu, nestled at the foot of fabled Diamond Head, Richard Kapapanuihanaumoko Kauhi was at a turning point: in his own life. Kauhi was born in Honolulu to English Hawaiian Susie Nani Hussey and pure Hawaiian Joseph Kauhi on May 21, 1929. At the age of 8, Richard began taking piano lessons every Wednesday afternoon from Vernon Waldo Thompson at Punahou School. When he was 10 years old, Richard entered and won the Tuesday night Territorial Amateur Hour Contest on KGMB radio, gaining recognition as a gifted young pianist. His mother died soon after of diabetes, and his father was hospitalized with tuberculosis, so the ample-bodied pre-teen quit school and masqueraded as an older man.

Not long into Kauhi's masquerade, Jesse and Dorothy Kalima drove down Kapahulu Avenue to the Kapahulu Theatre where 13 year old Richard spent much of his time playing the organ. They persuaded the youngster to fill the vacant slot as pianist for the Kalima Brothers. Initially, the other band members disagreed with the choice - after all, Henry Mucha had pounded out chords on the piano – while young Richard played a more refined classical style that featured intricate arrangements of tinkling keys. Founder and leader Jesse prevailed and the new sound soon exploded onto Honolulu's Hawaiian music scene.

Outdoor evening Jam Sessions were a popular way for musicians to earn money in the 1940s. The Kalima Brothers regular spot was under the banyan tree at Kuhio Beach on Kalakaua Avenue. The gathered crowd would be urged to donate cash into a strategically placed bucket. Jesse would say, “Let's hear the flutter of leaves (currency), not the tinkle of Abraham's (Lincoln pennies)”. The bands popularity continued to grow.

During World War II, Bill Fredlund began recording Hawaiian music on his new record label, Bell Records of Hawaii. Bell Records was part of his new musical enterprise which he called Leo Kupina'i Studios, meaning Voice That Goes Out And Comes Back. As a result, the original Bell Records catalog numbers incorporated the initials LKS.

The Bell Records Studio was a former military warehouse in an area known as Base Yard 6, located at Date & Laau Streets, across the Ala Wai Canal from Waikiki. Local electronics genius Young O. Kang served as Bell's recording engineer. The crafty Kang defeated any possible echo by baffling the warehouse walls and he reduced audible noise by using just two Altec 639 microphones. With his years of experience, Kang knew that both the Hawaiian musicians and their audience preferred a solid bottom end of bass on their music. And so, the Korean audio technician genius provided it on the Bell catalog of 78 rpm records.

Between 1944 and 1950, Bell Records of Hawaii recorded and released an enormous catalog of Hawaiian music. The label assembled a star-studded stable of Hawaii's professional musicians and entertainers - the absolute cream of the industry! Practically every star, of every showroom, lounge, and nightclub in the Waikiki showbiz scene recorded on Bell. The Kalima Brothers became Bell recording artists in 1946.

The recorded Kalima Brothers became a smash hit in post-war Honolulu, and were in great demand in the local club scene. The rambunctious 1,000 Pounds of Melody sound featured solid multi-part harmonies, embellished with intricate ukulele, piano, and steel guitar solos, and was propelled by a rollicking katchi - katchi danceable beat. Cyril Gabby Gomes often joined them as Emcee/Comedian when they played clubs all over town. Honolulu flocked to see them at Felix's Florentine Gardens (at Fisherman's Wharf - Kewalo Basin), Seaside Gardens (on Ala Moana) and at Lou Yee Chai, Queen's Surf, and Waikiki Sands (all in Waikiki).

By 1947, 19 year old Richard Kauhi wanted to do something new. His mentor of six years, Jesse Kalima, realized that young Richard wanted to be more than a non-singing sideman and supported his decision to leave the group. Sonny Waiau was asked to take over the Kalima's keyboards, and King Richard returned to Kapahulu to pursue his dream.

For the next eleven months, Richard developed his new group with their new sound at the Kauhi Family home at 3378 Campbell Avenue in Kapahulu. Childhood friend Johnny Costello, of 723 6th Avenue, became bassist. Another pal, Jimmy Kaku from Brokaw Street played the cocktail drums (brushes on a snare drum, and mallets on a tom-tom). Mark Sonny Kamaka, a talented young man from Maui, was recruited to play guitar and sing in the high end of the harmonies.

The Richard Kauhi Quartette recorded for Bell Records in the summer of 1948. The hybrid jazzy sound featured flawless four-part vocals driven by intricate piano arrangements. It was Hawaiian music influenced by the likes of the King Cole Trio, the Page Cavanaugh Trio, the Merry Macs, and George Shearing. When the group opened an engagement at Felix’s Florentine Gardens in September of 1948, it seemed as if all of young Honolulu turned out to see them.

As the new musical rage of Honolulu, the Richard Kauhi Quartette toured the Honolulu nightclub circuit. They were featured at Queen's Surf, Lou Yee Chai, Pago Pago, Zebra Room, and at the Ginza. Along the way, the group's personnel began to change and Richard began to look toward the mainland. Richard had married Betty Rapozo in 1951 and began a series of trips to the West Coast. Those trips finally resulted in Richard and Betty relocating to Hollywood.

Jesse Kalima kept performing and recording. He became the first entertainer to amplify his ukulele, and was the first musical performer on live television in Hawaii. He was featured regularly in television commercials, played nightclub gigs, and recorded Hawaiian music with his children. Jesse would always tell his audiences, “Live your life like it was your last day on earth, but treat everyone else like it's their last day on earth.”

Richard Kauhi remained on the mainland for 16 years. He was featured in prestigious clubs from Beverly Hills to Palm Springs, and he recorded two albums. Finally, in 1969, Richard came home to Hawaii. As he raised his young son in the Islands, Richard shared a wish for Hawaii's young musicians to be “free to do what they want to do... express themselves”.

Once again, Hawaii could enjoy either the ukulele styling of Jesse Kalima or the piano artistry of Richard Kauhi as each continued their performances through the 1970s. Sadly though, the old gang was leaving us one by one.

Albert Kalima died in 1971. Honey Kalima passed on in 1981. Both Johnny Costello and Jimmy Kaku also passed away.

On a Super Bowl Sunday, January 21, 1979, King Richard - Richard Kapapanuihanaumoku Kauhi - succumbed to lung cancer, at his home with his wife Betty at his side. He was only 49 years old.

The following year, on a Sunday morning, July 13, 1980, Jesse Kaleihia Andre Kalima died in his sleep, with his wife Dorothy at his side. He was only 59 years old.

The two innovative legends of Hawaiian music are gone but not forgotten - their music remains to pay tribute. With a Voice That Goes Out And Comes Back, Hana Ola Records shares with you the very best of 1,000 Pounds of Melody. The 25 selections represent the major body of work recorded on Bell Records of Hawaii by both ensembles. 14 tracks by the Kalima Brothers, and 11 tracks by the Richard Kauhi Quartette. These performers are truly Vintage Hawaiian Legends.