As part of the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance of the 70s, a band that was well-known was The Sunday Manoa.
Featuring ukulele and slack-key guitarist Peter Moon, Palani Vaughn, Albert “Baby” Kalima Jr. and singer/slack-key guitarist Cyril Pahinui (son of Gabby Pahinui). But as Palani, Albert and Cyrlis would leave the group a few years later, Peter would recruit two talented brothers, Robert and Roland Cazimero.
The new “The Sunday Manoa” would release their first album together known as “Guava Jam”. An album that is known to spark the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance. This was to form a contemporary national identity and not model Hawaii after Great Britain and the United States, as many local Hawaiians were growing tired of Hawai’i being looked at as tourism-based culture.
This is longstanding frustration for native Hawaiians, because since 1874, the US had recognized Hawai’i as independent and under the reign of then King Kamehameha III. A decade later, a coup d’etat was planned iun 1888 to overthrow King David Kalakaua, king of Hawaii and replace him with his sister, Princess Lili’uokalani. But that failed. But the U.S. staged a coup d’etat against Queen Lili’uokalani in January 1893.
To this very day, the native Hawaiians vowed that they never directly relinquished Hawaii to the United States and thus the buildup of Hawaiian sovereignty movement that continues today.
So, why was this album so special?
Well, in the ’70s, as many Hawaii would release music especially with English, the Sunday Manoa, released songs in original Hawaiian language. But this was a different Hawaiian music of the day, perhaps one can also that The Sunday Manoa was very much ahead of its time.
Peter Moon had a non-traditional way of how instruments should be played and the best way Moon would describe it as “breathing new life into the music of the past, enhancing the flavor of the old with influences of today”.
And while “Guava Jam” will stand the test of time and will be known as a musical spark to the Hawaiian Renaissance and a rebellious album in some aspects, because to be truthful, many traditional Hawaiian listeners didn’t quite feel the vibe of the album, while those who accepted it, did and loved the direction it was taking Hawaiian music to a more modern age at the time.
What’s interesting about “Guava Jam” for me, having listened to this album for many years now, there is not one song that I see as like other albums where I listen to a song over and over again. It’s more of an album that I play from beginning to end.
The music is so calming, energetic and I just get lost in the music playing and the vocals but I admit to putting the title track “Guava Jam” and also songs such as “Only You”, “Ka La’i Opua” and “Maikai’i Ka Makani O Kohala” on repeat.
And while the trio of Moon and the Cazemero Brothers would not last long, it would lead to their own respective careers. Peter Moon Band and the Brothers Cazimero would continue to win numerous awards after The Sunday Manoa and would be well-respected for their music for generations.
But The Sunday Manoa’s “Guava Jam” set the tone of Hawaiian music kicking off the ’70s but with a more modern twist and becoming a highlight in the history of Hawaiian music.
