Aloha, Friends of Exotica Music and Tiki Pop!

Updated Friday 3/12/2010

The WAITIKI 7 makes its Honolulu debut: Two Shows, April 7 & 9

In less than a month, The WAITIKI 7 will be performing on O’ahu, in our only public Hawaii shows of 2010.

Wednesday April 7 (6:30-9:30pm), we present The Jazz Sounds of The WAITIKI 7, as we salute the swing, Latin jazz, and bebop sides of exotica. Come out to Gordon Biersch (Aloha Tower Marketplace) to enjoy our music—from seldom-heard tunes, like Arthur Lyman’s “Leis of Jazz,” or Lee Morgan’s “Totem Pole,” to originals of our own—there’ll be something for everyone, exotica fans old and new. Not to mention our favorite Martin Denny arrangements, like “Black Orchid,” and “Quiet Village,” which are just too good to pass up! Many thanks to Robert Shinoda, curator of the Gordon Biersch Jazz Wednesdays series, for hosting us.

On Friday April 9 (9:30pm-1am), meet The WAITIKI 7 at FRESH Cafe/Warehouse, and groove the night away to tiki anthems-turned-jams guaranteed to make you dance.The exotic beats of The WAITIKI 7 are hip, fresh, live, and unlike anything you’ve heard or experienced before. Whether you want to dance or just chill with a well-iced mai tai, this will turn you on to the new sounds of exotica: from downtempo ultra-lounge to the heated rhythms of soca, reggaeton, salsa, zouk, semba, and more. Special Guest DJ DON BONGO joins the brigade with his own sultry mix of exotica and beyond. FREE VALET PARKING. 831 Queen St. (between Ward Ave. & Cooke St.).

ADVANCE TIX ONLINE AT HONOLULUBOXOFFICE.COM: $15 GEN, $7 COLLEGE/MIL + $3 ticket surcharge.
***Are you coming from the Mainland for these shows? If so, please e-mail us to let us know!

WAITIKI 7 wins at the HAWAII MUSIC AWARDS!

Thanks for voting! We won in the category EXOTICA ALBUM OF THE YEAR (The Waitiki 7’s Adventures in Paradise). Although we didn’t win in ISLAND CONTEMPORARY (Randy & Helen’s Magic Island Sounds), we are very appreciative of your votes!

Many kudos to our colleagues Don Tiki, for winning in the category ADULT CONTEMPORARY (South of the Boudoir).

“Loaded with virtuoso talent” —Mark Holston, JAZZIZ

The Waitiki 7’s Adventures in Paradise is featured in “Prelude” section of the print edition of JAZZIZ Winter 2010!

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

Download the full review as a PDF

“This is the band to beat”

—Nate Chinen, of the NY Times, on his blog

Nate 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.

Add Adventures in Paradise To Your Exotica Library

Adventures in Paradise by The WAITIKI 7 is critically-acclaimed “exotica nouveau for the third millennium”. Featuring the hit radio singles Ouanalao and Coronation.

Released on August 18, 2009, The WAITIKI 7’s Adventures in Paradise has achieved skyrocketing success on the national radio charts—reaching #2 on the JazzWeek World Top 40, #23 on the JazzWeek Jazz Top 40, and #13 on the CMJ Jazz Top 40! Not to mention, hundreds of spins thanks to NPR’s Morning Edition.

The disc and mp3s are now available for sale via Waitiki7.com/shop (preferred), CDFreedom.com, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and many others. BUY DIRECT HERE!

“Needs to be on your must-have list” — Tom Bock

This debut CD from The Waitiki 7, Adventures in Paradise, raises the bar extremely high for both the group and their representatives [Fully Altered Media] … To the romantic trying to set the mood, this needs to be on your must-have list. And to any music lover looking to relax after a hard day’s grind, you’ll need to go no farther than Adventures in Paradise.

“Intoxicating” — Peter Hund, GoodNewMusic.com

[The Waitiki 7] is an exotica jam band that updates the genre by augmenting the requisite vibraphone with plenty of sax and violin and often employing dead-serious jazz improvisation.

“Looking backward while moving forward” — Audiophile Audition

Audiophile Audition published a review yesterday of Adventures in Paradise. AA focuses on recordings that would be of interest to audiophiles, collectors, surround sound (music-related), and hi-res disc format—that they even considered us for inclusion is a great testament to our production values; not to mention a ★★★★ review!

Those who imagine the music made famous by Martin Denny and others has grown fallow or inert will think differently after sitting back and listening . . .

Adventures in Paradise is modeled upon the tranquil and relaxing exotica blueprint but The Waitiki 7 has built a different kind of tiki structure, assisted in measure by the members’ disparate training, experience and education. A realization of experimentation and advancement within a precisely coded genre gives Adventures in Paradise a context that places it in a unique position: looking backward while moving forward. —Doug Simpson

A fantastic review from Mother Jones magazine:

Fire up the tiki torches. Break out the umbrella drinks. The debut of Hawaii’s Waitiki 7 harks back a half-century to the golden age of exotica, when lounge-music giants like Martin Denny walked the Earth . . . A cover of jazz great Lee Morgan’s “Totem Pole” showcases a mesmerizing sax-trumpet [sic] dialogue, while the sleek violin of “Mood Indigo” would please Duke Ellington himself . . . —Jon Young, Sept. 2009

MAHALO FOR HELPING WAITIKI SUPPORT THE RESURGENCE OF EXOTICA!

WAITIKI.com