25 tracks recorded by
Kalama's Quartet (in both its quartet and quintet phases) between 1927-1932, as well as a 1935 recording attributed to Mike Hanapi. Varying in approach from folk balladry to uptempo jazz and hillbilly-flavored numbers, it's ebullient music that's most distinctive when the steel guitars are to the fore. The group also varied their vocal arrangements, but are most noted for the numbers featuring sweet falsetto vocals, such as the Hawaiian standard "Wahine Ui." It not only embodies some of the best attributes of vintage Hawaiian music, but also contains clear seeds of a high, pining sound that would be echoed by such later country and pop singers as
Roy Orbison and
Marty Robbins. ~ Richie Unterberger