Musicians on Maui to celebrate all things jazz
Concerts, student workshops set for ‘Jazz Appreciation Month’
Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Rock Hendricks, renowned bassist/vocalist Katie Thiroux, Quincy Jones protégé pianist Justin Kauflin and drummer Matt Witek are among the musicians who will perform during the 2022 Maui Music Series, “Tribute to Jazz Appreciation Month.”
Presented by the nonprofit Jazz Maui, the series begins on Sunday and runs through April 30. Distinguished jazz professionals will participate in themed concerts covering various jazz styles. Concerts and clinics will be held at venues throughout the island.
“I’m really proud that we are able to present different jazz genres, and have all these bands to pull it off,” said Jazz Maui’s Bryant Neal. “We have Prem Brosio with his brand of jazz fusion, Sal Godinez with Latin jazz, Katie Thiroux with her trio and a taste of straight-ahead and Rock Hendricks with smooth jazz. He rarely plays live and has a song with Paul Hardcastle in the top of Billboard.”
The national Jazz Appreciation Month was founded in 2001 by John Edward Hasse, a curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Concerts for Maui’s celebration of jazz are scheduled for:
≤ Sunday. The opening concert features keyboardist/trumpeter Paul January with drummer Jimmy C. at the Maui Ku‘ia Chocolate Factory in Lahaina. Music begins at 11:30 a.m., and chocolate tasting begins at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $35.
≤ April 22. Pianist/vocalist Sal Godinez heads the Latin jazz group Lat. 21° N, accompanied by fellow Maui musicians Danny B on bass, Estaire Godinez on percussion and John Zangrando on woodwinds at The Altitude Deck in Kihei. A member of Amy Hanaiali‘i’s group, Sal Godinez has also backed John Cruz and Melveen Leed.
A tribute to late Maui drummer Roscoe Wright, the show also includes the jazz fusion band Cosmic Groove with Brosio. The band director at Kamehameha Maui’s middle school, Brosio studied jazz guitar in Switzerland and earned a Bachelor of Education in Music degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Cosmic Grove also includes drummer Paul Marchetti, keyboardist Mark Johnstone and Zangrando on woodwinds. Tanama Colibri and Friends will open the evening with a pre-show at 5:30 p.m.
≤April 30. Smooth jazz with the Rock Hendricks Band will be presented at The Altitude Deck, with keyboardist George Tavey and guitarist Mitch Kepa. The evening also features straightahead jazz with the Katie Thiroux Trio, with pianist Kauflin and drummer Witek. A pre-show begins at 5:30 p.m.
Based on Maui, Hendricks has performed and recorded with many legendary performers, including Michael Jackson, John Lee Hooker, Michael Buble and Sammy Hagar. In Hawaii he has backed Cecilio and Kapono, The Brothers Cazimero and Kalapana.
Thiroux is an internationally acclaimed bassist, vocalist, composer and bandleader.
Currently featured in the virtual 2022 Grammy In The Schools Fest, Thiroux said she most loves the spontaneity of jazz, “the opportunity to create anything in the moment.” AllAboutJazz hailed her debut album as, “flat out phenomenal,” and The Boston Globe praised her as “an enchanting singer, a poised and polished acoustic bassist and an accomplished composer.”
The covered, open-air Altitude Deck is located on the rooftop of the Kihei Charter School in the Maui Research and Technology Park.
“It’s gorgeous,” said Neal. “You are at the top of the hill and you have all those views.”
Other events during the 2022 Maui Music Series include a unique “Jazz in the Schools” program with inschool workshops held April 25-29. These clinics provide an opportunity for young musicians of all skill levels to study with professional music instructors.
Thiroux will coordinate the workshops with Kauflin and Witek at King Kekaulike High School, Kamehameha Maui’s middle school, Lahainaluna High School, Maui Preparatory Academy and Seabury Hall.
“We are really excited because we’ve tested this out in many different markets all over the U.S. where we go into classrooms with the students,” said Thiroux. “We will go into five Maui schools and introduce kids to jazz music. My favorite thing is within 45 minutes we can have kids who may not know anything about jazz, and at the end, they are all improvising over a blues. It’s the coolest thing ever.”
Selected students will perform as part of the series’ preshow at the April 30 concert. Concerts will be recorded and available for free live streaming on the Jazz Maui website and Akaku at a later date.
Tickets for The Altitude Deck shows are $20. Seating is limited. More information and tickets are available at www.jazzmaui.org.