Nate Chinen posted a thoughtful commentary on exotica the other day at his blog The Gig. Chinen, who was born and raised in Honolulu, is no stranger to exotica or its musicians—he studied drums with Harold Chang, gigged with many of the Islands’ finest jazzers, and wrote remembrances of Arthur Lyman when Lyman passed away. He’s now an esteemed jazz critic, known for his writings for the New York Times, JazzTimes, and Village Voice.
… the band, which also includes pianist Zaccai Curtis and percussionist Lopaka Colon, is on the right track with Adventures in Paradise released last month. The music reflects a firm grounding in Hawaiian culture, and a real grasp of this genre’s practices. (Colon’s father was the revered percussionist Augie Colon, a former member of Denny’s group; he appears on that recording of “Quiet Village.”) … If there’s room for a postmillennial exotica revival, this is the band to beat.
Check out the whole article online here. Nate wasn’t able to catch any of the shows during our East Coast tour, so if you saw and liked us, please comment below his post to let him know!
Download Nate Chinen’s “Exotica: It Takes A Village” as a PDF
The Waitiki 7, a born-in-Honolulu ensemble loaded with virtuoso talent, updates the classic exotica mood on Adventures in Paradise (Pass Out)—a 13-track excursion that pays respect to the venerable music’s roots while charting its own distinctive course . . . The contributions of woodwind player Tim Mayer, trombonist Mike Dease and violinist Helen Liu provide Waitiki 7 with substantial improvisiational firepower. Laka, the Hawaiian goddess of song and dance, should be smiling.—Mark Holston
