ginai

Ginai shows no signs of stopping or slowing down! Adding to her lengthy list of recent accomplishments are two movies: Rocking in Paradise and Tale of the Circle Keys. Her shows this past year include some of her finest work: The Best of Ginai, Hawaiian Soul (also the name of her new book), The Music of Sade, The Koalition (also known as The FunkAholics), and Fleetwood Blac, a reimagining of the music of Fleetwood Mac. She single-handedly lays claim to being a versatile artist, proficient and accomplished in jazz, R&B, rock, and soul.

For the last five decades, Ginai has worked on Dreamgirls, Legends in Concert as Whitney Houston, and toured the Blue Note circuit in Japan and at home in Hawai‘i. For all the latest, visit ginai.com and add yourself to her list of fans and admirers.

Sandy Tsukiyama & ARARA DE VENTO Brazilian jazz band

Sandy Tsukiyama was born and raised in Honolulu and is the leader of the Brazilian jazz band, Arara de Vento. A trained ethnomusicologist and music educator, she is also a professional language interpreter and the host of The Brazilian Experience on Hawai‘i Public Radio. As a vocalist, she has performed with local legends such as Ohta-San, Nohelani Cypriano, and Yvonne Elliman, as well as with salsa, Latin jazz, and mariachi ensembles.

Arara de Vento means “Macaw Parrot of the Wind” and was coined by Rafael Borges Amaral (guitar) and Gustavo D’Amico (sax), both from São Paulo, Brazil, and PhD candidates in Music Composition at UH Mānoa. Rounding out the sextet are powerhouses Tommy James (keyboard), Alika Lyman (bass), and Abe Lāgrimas Jr. (drums). Expect to hear works by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Djavan, Hermeto Pascoal, Pixinguinha, and more!

SHARI LYNN

Shari Lynn became La Pietra’s Director of Music in 1999 and retired in 2022. During that time she created, produced and performed in Sunset Jazz, in order to bring live music to La Pietra’s students. Sunset Jazz became a mainstay of  Honolulu’s jazz concerts and a popular yearly event.

Lynn is recognized as Hawaii’s leading musical theatre actress, a cabaret and jazz artist, and is an accomplished writer and educator. She has appeared in every major showroom in Hawaii (including the Blue Note) starred with the Honolulu Symphony, was singing partner of the late Jimmy Borges, and helmed her own radio and TV shows. She is a founding member of The Jive Sisters, sang with the Del Courtney Orchestra at the famed Monarch Room Tea Dances, head-lined on The Independence and Constitution and led her own band, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, for 25 years.

mary gutzi

Mary Gutzi is well known to Hawai‘i audiences for her performances at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the Royal Hawaiian, and Diamond Head Theatre, to name a few. She has also appeared on Broadway and in national tours of Les Misérables, Cats, Ragtime, Fiddler on the Roof, Sunset Boulevard, Mary Poppins, The Light in the Piazza, Man of La Mancha, and many more. Most recently, she played Mother Superior in Sister Act on tour in South Korea and Japan.