Wheelin’ and Dealin’ in Honolulu/Oct. 4-16, 2009

Get Me to The Gig On Time

I arrived in Honolulu on Sunday Oct. 4th and played a gig on the North Shore of Oahu that night. But there’s a story behind that; I played a wedding gig in TriBeCa, NYC, on Saturday night Oct. 3rd. So that’s a Saturday night gig in NYC, Sunday night gig in Hawaii. Call me crazy, but it don’t do to turn down money gigs these days. I got out of the wedding Saturday at around 10 pm, was home at 11:30, slept barely at all and left the house at around 4 AM for the ride to Newark Aiport, where I caught my 6:45 AM flight to Honolulu via Houston. I arrived in Honolulu at 12:50 pm on Sunday, was picked up by my buddy Enrique Zender, and chilled for an hour or so before leaving to drive to Banzai Sushi on the North Shore for a duo gig.

The payoff was worth it; the North Shore of Oahu is an idyllic, laid-back surfer’s paradise:

Caterpillar Rolls at Banzai Sushi

Monday I spent mostly recovering. By Tuesday I was back in the game, playing at Jazz Minds in Honolulu with the Gilbert Batangan Trio. Gilbert’s a fine Honolulu guitarist I met on my last Hawaii trip. And Jazz Minds is a classically funky jazz den. Run by Ms. Young (whom everyone calls Mama), the club has a lounge feel and is populated by a great mix of young & old, tourists & jazz crazies. Just to give you an idea, the last time I was there some guy tried to sell me a pizza out of the trunk of his car in the parking lot behind Jazz Minds.

Wheelin’ and Dealin’

The rest of the week was a combination of jet lag, madly finishing some charts for an upcoming Octet gig, occasional trips to the beach, and hanging until 4 or 5 AM every night, sitting in with various Honolulu musicians. Wednesday Enrique and I went down to Gordon Biersch, right on the pier beneath the Aloha Tower, to check out vocalist Jimmy Borges with special guest saxophonist George Young. George has performed and/or recorded with many many artists; it was a pleasure hearing him play his tenor, and sitting in.

PC, George Young, Jimmy Borges, DeShannon Higa

After the gig we went over to a very cool ultra lounge called Apartm3nt. My friends Justin James, Mark Tanouye and Josh Kaye were laying down the funk and soul, accompanied by guest spoken word artist Bridget Gray and vocalist Sherry Eatmon. We sat in, to the tune of several pints of Guinness. Awww Yeeeahh!

hangin' at Apartm3nt

Thursday and Friday the hang continued with another pass through Jazz Minds, a trip to the Dragon Upstairs to sit in with singer Santino Sgambelluri, and a couple of late-night Honolulu food runs with Gilbert Batangan and Mark Tanouye.

Back to Work

Saturday I played at the Dragon Upstairs with Satomi Yarimizo, Von Baron, and Steve Jones. We had a blast on this gig! Sunday was a return gig at Ward’s Rafters, a unique ‘living room’ venue with one of, if not the best, views from the stage in Honolulu. For this gig I joined Satomi, her husband Shinya on drums, Chris Roth on bass, and Enrique Zender sitting in on percussion.

Tuesday the 13th I was back at Jazz Minds for a really fun gig with Gilbert Batangan, Mark Tanouye, and drummer Chuck James, and I also taught three classes at the Iolani School.

The Paul Carlon Octet, Honolulu Edition

Wednesday Oct. 14th was a big one: the first time I’d played an Octet gig without my regular NY lineup. The Honolulu musicians on the gig were up to the task, and did a stellar job with very little rehearsal time. Muchos Mahalos! George Young was with us, as well as DeShannon Higa on trumpet, and special guest vocalists Sandy Tsukiyama and Santino Sgambelluri, with Enrique once again throwing down on percussion. We got a great writeup in the Honolulu Weekly:

Honolulu Octet listing in Honolulu Weekly

And we rocked it!

Special Thanks to the musicians: DeShannon Higa, George Young, Brien Matson, Curtis Abe, Darryl Pellegrini, Dean Taba, and Robert Shinoda

And also to Gordon Biersch for having us, and to Dave Rohner, DeShannon, Satomi, and Enrique for helping to promote the gig. And to the dancers who got up and made it happen!

Thursday night the 15th was my last gig in Honolulu, a theme night at 39 Hotel called Prohibition. Bassist Jon Hawes and I played duo. Check out 39 Hotel if you’re ever in Honolulu; this is a great club with an open-air veranda and house cocktails. Prohibition happens every Thursday; you need a password to get in so sign up for their newsletter online.

Can’t wait for the next one!