Rene Paulo Plays In Person

 

Moon River

Rene Paulo 

Plays In Person

Recorded Live at The Famed Shell Bar of The Hilton Hawaiian Village at Waikiki Beach, HonoluluRecording Engineer: Bob Lang

Cover Design: Victor Amiel

Mahalo Records M-3004

1962

From the back cover: An enthusiastic and excited audience crowded the Hawaiian Village's Shell Bar in Waikiki the evening of May 7, 1962.

For it was the opening night of Rene Paulo, the gifted pianist whose refreshing and highly original style had captured the musical fancy of the islands. Rene's first album for Mahalo Records, Here Is Happiness, had become the best-seller local LP throughout Hawaii in the two short months following its release, the young artist was at the peak of fame on the island musical scene, and the evening promised to be a high mark in the fabulous Paulo career.

It was all of that. The rare and electric stimulation between a thrilled and receptive audience and a sensitive artist was evident from start to finish, and certainly some of Paulo's greatest performances were heard that evening.

The producers of Malalo Records have captured the excitement of that evening in this album, recorded during the performance; it is an album which will be a treasured entry in the collection of all connoisseurs of popular music.

Introduced by Tom Moffatt, popular Honolulu radio personality of Station K-POI, Rene first caresses the melody with which he has become so closely associated, Here Is Happiness. The crowd's responsive applause and recognition of the theme keynotes the program to follow.

The night's performance includes many memorable renditions, but none more carefully constructed nor warmly executed than the lovely Moon River, the Henry Mancini-Johnny Mercer Academy Award winner. The Paulo style embraces the haunting tune, and the young pianist develops the melody through hushed, bell-like tones, harmonic changes and chord progressions of unsurpassed beauty.

Notice, also, the audience's delight and acceptance when Rene swings into Mack The Knife, one of his most requested numbers. He ambles through the piece in a jocular mood, bouncing the melody about in a series of swinging variations.

A great admirer of Leonard Bernstein's music, Rene, to the complete satisfaction of the audience, delivers a stunning concert version of Maria, the hit tune from West Side Story. It is doubtful whether the song has ever been performed with more affection.

No Paulo performance would be complete without his unique arrangement of the nursery rhyme, Three Blind Mice. Rene's training at the famed Juilliard School Of Music manifests itself as the melody appears again and again, each time in the style of a different composer. Listen carefully and you will hear how this familiar melody would have sounded had it been the work of Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Chopin or Mozart.

With the pianist on this recording are the three island musicians who have become members of the Rene Paulo Quartet: Ed Shonk, bass; Bruce Hamada, drums; and Tomo Fukui, guitar. Their expert accompaniment contributes to an unforgettable evening with Rene Paulo at the Hawaiian Village. – Dick Howard

Here Is Happiness

Hiilawe

Moon River

Three Blind Mice

Mack The Knife

Sakura

Maria

Midnight In Moscow