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HONOR BOUND. .
.features the music of the Hawaii Shochiku Orchestra,
unequivocally the greatest orchestra of the Golden Age of
Hawaiian- Japanese Music – a band renown for showcasing Hawaii’s
finest musicians and singer-entertainers. It includes 21 original
hits recorded in Hawaii (circa 1947 through the 1950s) by the
sons and daughters of migrant workers – Americans of Okinawan
and Japanese ancestry born and raised in the Islands. It’s
detailed historical liner notes and rare photos, researched and
compiled by the leading authority on the subject, places the music
in proper context and heightens the listening experience. Honor
Bound is the second of a two-disc set that tells the story of this
legendary Hawaiian-Japanese orchestra. . .
A simple act of
friendship between Francis Zanami and Masaji Uyehara – two young
second generation Japanese-Americans – was the seminal event
that sparked a historic music collaboration. The resultant
orchestra thrilled Island audiences for 61 years – far
outlasting their peers. During the peak of the Golden Age of
Hawaiian-Japanese Music (generally the 1950s), there were upwards
of 50 orchestras in the Territory of Hawaii. Shochiku was
considered the top music ensemble – it was the only orchestra of
the period to introduce original compositions, causing a sensation
in the Islands; some of them went on to became hits in Japan and
Japanese enclaves throughout the world – an extraordinary feat
at the time.
The story behind the
Hawaii Shochiku Orchestra is one of deep bonds of friendship,
kindness, natural talent, assimilation, upstanding working-class
values, cultural pride, loyalty and innovation. The orchestra’s
body of work stands as a testament to the power of music – the
power to bring joy and bridge ancient differences within a
community – the power to foster a sense of oneness that helped
forge a unique Hawaiian-Japanese culture – separate and distinct
from Japan. Targeted record buyers will clamor to own a piece of
history, a window back in time to the optimism and energy of the
post-WWII years in the Territory of Hawaii. . .
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