Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 17, Number 12, 1 December 2000 — Teresa Bright invites you to "A Christmas Season's Delight" [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Teresa Bright invites you to "A Christmas Season's Delight"

By Manu Boyd

āne'ohe songstress Teresa Naniali'i Ē Bright is back in yuletide spirit with Ē m her second Christmas compilation, Ē "A Christmas Season 's Delight." With a Christmas Hōkū award i

already on the mantle for A Bright Hawaiian Christmas" released in 1994, Bright's savvy for the season rings out loud and clear. She starts out with the traditional Ukrainian " Carol ofthe Bells," an intricate arrangement by co-producer pal Kit Ebersbach, himself an accomplished musician. Where Ebeesbach and Bright blend I best is jazz, sprinkled throughout, as in "What *

Child is This" and '77/ be Homefor Christmas." Stenhen Earl's " Nothine But a Child" is a ehieken-

skin ballad recalling the profound simplicity of the Nativity and its lasting impact on the world. Harry

Koizumi joins in on slack-key, employing both a niekelplated Rickenbacker as well as a German guitar. "Christmas really brings out the best in people - people are more giving, and that brings ioy to others, young

and old," said Bright of her affīnity with the season. "I

also love Christmas for the beauty of the

music. it s the giīt l want to • share with everyone." ' Whether performing live or in-studio, Bright instills

1 a sense of family. Two cousins eome into the fold on: Dwight Kanae, for his original compositions of "It's that Time ofthe Year," and

1 " Honolulu Christmas Lights," and Frank Hewett with the vocal debut of his daughter, 'Ula (Lei'ōhelo'ulaopele) in

" Amazing Grace ." The younger Hewett is a vocal student of Bright's along with Waiola Burke and

Liha Peltier who join in on the project. "For about a year

now, 1 ve been teaching these girls, and I thought they were ready for j the studio exnerience." J

she explained. * "You can't duplicate the sound of young

"A Christmas Season 's Delighf' is a dreamy, wintery trea sure that will endure throUgh the

years, as a nostalgic family omament that takes on new luster eaeh time you suspend it from a glittering branch of pine. ■

imm «isii: sti« ; ■ ;