Page 9 - MidWeek Kauai - Oct 12, 2022

with Myrna Kamae
I’ve never been much for parties, but gather- ing at a beachside home with friends and co-workers on Christmas Day 1965 changed my life. Before moving from Utah to Ha- wai‘i to help friends manage a restaurant, I had been ex- posed to Polynesian music, but nothing had prepared me for what I heard now.
Then back to Earth: My boss asked if I would go open the restaurant. I was heavy-hearted to think I wouldn’t hear or see that ʻukulele player again. Lat- er that night, however, who should walk into the restau- rant but Eddie and his cous- in Harold Kaniho. After we closed, Eddie asked if I’ d like to go into Lahaina. We
The miracle of knowing this was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with started with a song, and my love was not far behind. Even though we lost Eddie in 2017, his music lives on. I hear it still.
I stood, not moving, for two hours, immersed in mu- sic, with nothing between
by the expanse resounding in my heart.
For some reason, I’ ve al- ways listened more to instru- ments, more to music than to words. I was deeply touched,
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The Music That Never Stopped
“Music expresses what cannot be put into words and what cannot remain silent.” — Victor Hugo
The author and her husband, Eddie, in 1966 (left) and at their 50th wedding anniversary 2016. PHOTOS COURTESY MYRNA KAMAE AND HONOLULU STAR ADVERTISER/JOHN BERGER
me and its lilting beauty. “Do you know who they
and the one on the right is Raymond Kane playing slack key guitar.”
Myrna Kamae is the pro- ducer of all 10 documenta- ries on Hawaiian culture, directed by her husband, Eddie, for the Hawaiian Legacy Foundation. Togeth- er, they produced 14 albums of traditional Hawaiian mu- sic, Eddie’s book “Hawaiian Son,” and co-wrote seven Hawaiian songs. Myrna re-
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are?” my boss asked.
I shook my head, still held
They had come to Lahaina to visit Eddie’s mom.
“The musician on the left playing the small Martin ʻukulele is Eddie Kamae,
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though, by the melody of the Hawaiian language, as well as the virtuosity of the play- ers. The breezes and ocean murmurs blended perfectly with their voices. I felt I had discovered an authentic voice of Hawai‘i, a sound, a song, two legends whose music soared above the sky on wings of aloha.
dropped off his cousin, then watched the full Maui moon slip into the sea.
cently launched the Eddie Kamae Songbook: A Musi- cal Journey, a free online site at eddiekamaesongbook. org.
Chasing The Light is pro- duced by Lynne Johnson and Robin Stephens Rohr.
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OCTOBER 12, 2022 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK 9
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