Another jamming night at the PucaPuca in Fujisawa/Japan - our favorite place to hang out and to kanikapila.
Braddah IZ's 50th birthday was just a month ago, the anniversary of his way to early death a few days ahead. A good opportunity to celebrate the memory of the man who left us a heritage of wonderful music and an idea of the spirit of the islands we miss so much.
Aloha nō, Braddah IZ!

Here we (Nao, AlohaShu and my humble self) play and sing "Ka Pua 'U'i" .
My wife Arlene Hau'oli - kumu hula of Hau'oli Hula Studio in Fujisawa, Kamakura, Shichirigahama and Shinjuku - shares the hula. It is her original choreography dedicated to our granddaughter Arlene "Oli".
Please take a look at her Channel too:
http://www.youtube.com/user/arlene2hauolihula
I know: I did not give the right information about Bina Mossman during the introduction of this song, so I added some below...
And yes: We played this before - but not with Nao. And we simply love this song, so there might be another video of it in the future.

Ka Pua U'i (The Beautiful Flower) - by Bina Mossman

Aloha wau ia 'oe ku'uipo
Ku'u lei momi ku'u milimili
O ka heke 'oe o na pua
A ke kupuna a'e hi'i poi nei

Hau'oli ka mana'o ke 'ike aku
Kou maka palupalu e ke aloha
He aloha i pili ia ika pu'uwai
Ahe lei hi'ehi'e na ka makua

Puana ka inoa o ku'uipo
Ku'u lei nani lei maka mae
He nohea oe i ku'u maka
E ka pua u'i oe o na lani

I love you, my sweetheart
A lei of pearls to caress
You are the choice flower
Cherished by grandparents

Joyful thoughts
Your gentle loving eyes
Bring love close to the heart
A lei, the delight of your parents

Tell again the name-song of my sweetheart
A treasured and beautiful lei
You are loveliness in my sight
You are a beautiful flower of the heavens

Bina Mossman (1893-1990)
Bina Mossman was born in an era when song fests and glee clubs were still inspired and encouraged by Hawaiian royalty. It was Bina who, at age 21, organized the first all-Hawaiian girls glee club and had the good fortune to have her talented group tutored in music by the then-deposed Queen, Lili'uokalani.

Hearing "Bina Mossman's Glee Club" rehearsing one day, the Queen stopped her carriage and offered Bina suggestions on how the group might improve. After that, Lili'uokalani invited them to rehearse at her home, Washington Place, where she trained the young girls in correct Hawaiian pronunciation and introduced them to many of the old Hawaiian songs. Bina's Glee Club continued for 28 years, singing for such notables as then-governor Farrington, the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden, and U.S. President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Bina's glee club disbanded during World War II. Politics, in which she had been active since her twenties, became a full time vocation. Bina Mossman was one of the first women in Hawai'i to serve in the Territorial Legislature. Throughout this period she continued to integrate her Hawaiian music with her political career, never leaving her music for long.

Of her many compositions, the hula "Hele au I Kaleponii" tells of a young man going to California (Kaleponi) who asks his girlfriend what to bring back for her. She responds with a list of stylish clothing. Bina's songs "He ono" (Delicious [fish]) and "Niu Haohao" (Young Coconuts) demonstrate the Hawaiian use of kaona - hidden meaning - veiled references to the pleasures of a particular human form or activity. Among other still-popular tunes which Bina wrote are "Ka Pua 'U'i", "Lae Lae", "Ku'u Lei", and Stevedore Hula". Her songs were traditional - simple, gay and with Hawaiian lyrics.

Bina Mossman's passion for music and its presentation continued after WWII. She formed the Ka'ahumanu Choral Group, made up of mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers. With them she toured the world, picking up fabrics along the way for the holoku she designed and wore. Growing up in the transitional era from Monarchy to Territorial government, Bina was a Renaissance Woman. While noted for her political accomplishments, it is through her music that she continues to be
remembered. (less info)