Post #329244 by professahhummingflowah on Fri, Aug 31, 2007 5:27 AM

On 2007-08-30 05:03, Bongo Bungalow wrote:
I was wonderin' about the intersection of Tiki and ukes. I spotted a couple of ukuleles in some of the photos of tiki collections.

Exotica music is tres cool, but not what us mere mortals are likely to perform in public. Tropical music, ukuleles, bongo, congas, slide guitar-- great sounds to be had with these!

It wasn't uncommon for the uke to be used in Hawaii's swing bands of the WWII era. You can spot the uke in Nisei orchestras and other ensembles of the time, which is where (arguably) much of the influence for exotica came from. Gabby Pahinui's early recordings had congas, vibraphone, alto flute, clarinet, upright bass on them — in addition to the standard slack-key guitar, ukulele, and falsetto vocals of that genre.

In terms of modern usage, I think it depends on your definition of 'tiki music.' If that definition includes hapa-haole and/or surf rock tunes, then the answer is obvious ... and many of the TC'ers on this board are fine purveyors of that craft. Look to Pablus, the Haole Kats, and others for inspiration! (Hi guys!!!)

But if you are talking about modern 'classic exotica' (styled after Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman) that has uke in it, then you might be interested in Abe Lagrimas Jr. Abe was founding drummer of Waitiki and has established himself as a uke player also. We recorded a tune called "Cold Rain" for his "Dimensions" album, and that tune is very much influenced by classic exotica: A backdrop of piano, vibraphone, bass, drum kit & congas, with ukulele in the foreground.

You might also be interested to know that, coming out in early November is an album produced by Jim Beloff. It features the work of WAITIKI and AKAMAI BRAIN COLLECTIVE (my work with Abe as a uke/bass/drums trio) - some songs on the album are vintage exotica/Hawaiian tunes that show the intersection of uke/exotica.

Anyways, that's just my two cents. Okonkuluku!