wayneharada.com

Jazz  — and live music — will bloom again at the Paradise Lounge of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, just outside of the resort’s Bali Restaurant.

After a New Year’s Eve trial run at the hotel, singer Shari Lynn and pianist Jim Howard will return to the site, presiding from  7 to 10 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays of the month, beginning Feb. 4.

According to Shari, the format will  includes classics from the Great American Songbook catalogue and Broadway and show tunes, with the accent on jazz and standards.

There is no cover or minimum, but seating is limited.

Other acts will be recruited for other Fridays and Saturdays, as the hotel attempts to bring back live music to this venue. …

Meanwhile, Shari will be one of three actresses – the others are Jo Pruden and Eden Lee Murray – who will participate in “Murder, Margaret ad Me,” a Windward Reader’s Theatre event, at 7:30 p.m. next Monday through Wednesday (Jan. 23, 24 and 25), at the Brad Powell Theatre under the auspices of The Actors Group (TAG).

The program explores the friendship and relationships of Margaret Rutherford (who appeared as Miss Marple, in the author Agatha Christie’s film whodunnits).

Vanita Rae Smith, who has previously staged Readers Theatres shows at Richardson Theatre at Ft. Shafter and Pohai Nani in Kaneohe, will direct.

Tickets are $20. Call TAG at (808) 722-6941. …

‘Magnum’ will offer some skin

The red Ferrari, check.

The freeway races and chases, check.

The panoramic aerial shots of Hawaii’s mountain and ocean spectacles, check.

“Magnum P.I.” will return in an abbreviated season (fewer episodes) and on a new network (NBC now, since CBS said aloha).

Expect the usual, but anticipate a bit of skin between Thomas Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks). When we last saw ‘em in the CBS finale, Magnum and Higgins were clinched together and enjoying a bona fide romantic kiss. A new clip promoting the move to NBC, shared on Instagram, briefly shows the couple in the shower. Together.

Showrunner Eric Guggenheim has indicated that  viewers should expect a bit more romantic sizzle as the  relationship of the crime-fighting partners develops. “This season is sexier. It is more romantic, more emotional,” he said on on NBC’s Television Critics Assn. press tour.

Evidence: That  teaser in a new  preview of the two leads in the shower together.

The new season kicks off  at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19, with back-to-back episodes. Thereafter, “Magnum” will occupy that 8 p.m. Sunday slot, with next-day streaming on Peacock. …

Roy’s: 35 and counting

Chef Roy Yamaguchi is heading toward his 36^th season at his flagship Roy’s Restaurant in Hawaii Kai, and his 35^th anniversary celebration Thursday night (Jan. 19) had a “party like it’s 1988” theme.

A crew of former and current Roy’s exec chefs and chefs — Jackie Lau, Ronnie Nasuti, Chris Garnier, Lyndsey Simone and Isaiah Badua –prepared a bevy of treats and eats in a fab grazing party. Badua’s mochi crusted colossal shrimp, Lau’s seared U-10 diver scallops and Nasuti’s sous vide lamb loin were particular favorites.

The celebrants included vendors, patrons and fans past and present, and it was a joy to meet up again with Philip Shaw, the first manager at Roy’s, who now oversees Michel’s at the Colony Surf. …

Broadway grosses, for week ending Jan. 15

A couple of new leaders has emerged in the top seven roster of top Broadway attractions:

1 – “The Music Man,” $3.589 million.

2 – “The Phantom of the Opera,” $2.189 million.

3 – “Hamilton,” $2.078 million.

4—“Funny Girl,” $2.017 million.

5 – “Lion King,” $1.885 million.

6 – “A Beautiful Noise,” $1.184 million.

7 –“MJ,” $1.719 million.

The list is courtesy The Broadway League. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

Two show biz legends – pianist Rene Paulo, the patriarch of a family of entertainers, and recording engineer Milan Bertosa – have died this month.

Paulo (full name, Irenio Pagarigan Paulo) was 92 when he died peacefully yesterday (Jan. 11) at Tripler Army Medical Center. He and surviving wife Akemi Paulo were popular recording artists and a beloved lounge entertainment duo – he was on keyboards, she was the featured singer – at the Opus One club they owned at the Ilikai Hotel in Waikiki. They were the parents of saxophonist Michael Paulo and vocalist Kathy Paulo.

Bertosa, a veteran sound engineer, died Jan. 1 at age 61 of an apparent heart attack. On New Year’s Eve, he was celebrating and prepping for the holidays with friends, according to his family, so his death was a surprise for all. Bertosa was an integral figure in recording the late Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” global hit song.

Paulo was born in Wahiawa and excelled s in classical music, studying at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He embraced other genres of music including jazz, pop and adult contemporary, and was dubbed “Hawaii’s Favorite and Most Famous Pianist” while performing in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Paulo also joined son Michael in numerous smooth jazz gigs.

Earlier in his career, he recorded “Black Coral” on Liberty Records in 1959, “Tropical Heat Wave” in 1963, “The Best of Rene Paulo” in 1995, The Best of Rene & Akemi Paulo” in 1996.

 In addition to his entertainment career, Rene was in the Army and served during the Korean War.

 In a statement, Michael Paulo said of his dad, “As a child, even before I began playing the sax and not knowing anything about music … when I watched my dad play piano, I knew he was special and was not just another good musician.  The best way to describe my respect for him is when I say to people, ‘My Dad gave me enough talent from just his little finger to go on and be successful playing music on the world stage and play with some of the jazz and pop greats in our lifetime.’  I managed that with just a small portion of the gift he had.” 

He added, “That’s how great he was.  I chose to follow in his footsteps and pursue music as my life and I will continue his legacy for the rest of my life.”

Besides wife of 71 years Akemi (the former Lilian Tatsilp Shimoda), Paulo is survived by children Irenio Rene Paulo (Laverne), Michael Paulo (Terri), Victoria Tokujo (Roy), Kathleen Paulo-Hirai (George), Charlene Paulo Jubrail (Fadi) and Gail-Anne Namerow (Richard), as well as 21 grandchildren, 14 grandchildren-in-law, 42 great-grandchildren, 22 step great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.

 Other survivors include siblings Pablito Pagarigan, Olivia Simms (James – deceased), Susan Moniz (Theodore – deceased), Leonard Pagarigan (Jeanine) and Maria Clara Converse (Robert). 

Funeral services  are pending. …

Bertosa will be remembered in a celebration of life event set for March  12 at Hawaiian Brian’s, though a time has not yet been disclosed on the venue’s website.

Bertosa, who had 700 album projects to his credit, is best known as the engineer on duty in 1988 when the late Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole showed up in the wee hours (3 a.m.) at a recording studio to do some work.

What Bruddah Iz did, as fans and the world would later learn, was render what would become his and Hawaii’s biggest hit, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” coupled with“What a Wonderful World,” when the open mike  recorded the tunes – in one take — complete with the iconic and historic “Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo” intro and Iz’s altered lyrics to the tune popularized by Judy Garland in the film, “The Wizard of Oz.”

The recording would wind up in Bruddah Iz’s “Facing Future” CD, which Bertosa shared with producer Jon de Mello of the Mountain Apple Company, and ultimately included in the album released in 1993.

The tune, because of Iz’s unique take, was heard on TV’s “ER” and in such films as “Meet Joe Black” and “50 First Dates,” and scores of commercial jingles.

Bertosa was a Yugoslavia native, whose family fled the Soviet-occupied region, landing in Chicago when he was 7. He  relocated to Honolulu in 1988, establishing a reputation as one of the best sound engineers here, earning four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

He operated Audio Resources Hawaii, a studio just outside of Waikiki,  but moved to a Young Street destination which was the former Sounds of Hawaii studio operated by Herb Ono. Bertosa was chief studio engineer for the Mountain Apple label before working as a free-lancer.

He is survived by his wife, Maya. Friends have launched a GO FUND ME page to assist with medical and funeral expenses. …

Around town

Kaipo Hale and Hoku Zuttermeister will guest-sing with Ho‘okena’s Horace Dudoit III and Glen Smith from 6 to 9 p..m.  this Satuarday (Jan. 14) at Kani Ka Pila Grille at the Outrigger Reef Hotel. Expect Hawaiiana fans to flock to this one. …

Jack Cione, the veteran entrepreneur and producer-director of the Follies revue at the Arcadia, has been released from the hospital to recuperate from pneumonia in isolation in his apartment.  By now, he should be cleared to resume life as usual including trips to the dining room instead of eating meals delivered to his room. …

And that’s Show Biz. …

Danny “Kaniela”  Kaleikini, the beloved “Ambassador of Aloha” known for his constant welcomes of “alooooooha” to audiences and friends, died early today (Jan. 6) at Saint Francis Hospice, where he had been hospitalized. He was 85.

In a career spanning more than five decades, including a 28-year stint at the fabled Kahala Hilton beachfront Hala Terrace,  Kaleikini established a wide following, rendering Hawaiian, Tahitian and international melodies, becoming the first island entertainer to stage a Polynesian show outside of the Waikiki 96825 zip code. His five-year Kahala contract, beginning in 1967, was expanded to nearly 30 years until it was terminated on Dec. 31, 1994^, when the hotel took on new owners.

Kaleikini was one of the golden baritones of his generation, who performed on the Hawaiian nose flute in his shows. His audiences were international in scope but he was a particular favorite with Japanese visitors, enabling him to make numerous Japan appearances.

Kaleikini was a proud product of Papakolea, a district where he attended Roosevelt High School, Kawananakoa Intermediate School (where he was student body president), and Royal Elementary school.

Before gaining fame at the Kahala, Kaleikini was mentored by band leader Ray Kinney and comic hula dancer and singer Hilo Hattie; the later encouraged him to always speak standard English, instead of pidgin, a blessing that led him to headline at the Hawaiian Village Hotel (now the Hilton) Tapa Room, succeeding Alfred Apaka following his death.

Kaleikini quickly learned the tricks of his trade, also studying Japanese so he could welcome his Nippon guests, and he was a savvy host,  also welcoming his audiences in multiple languages, tagging on his “alooooooha.”

Survivors also include his wife, Jacqueline Wong, from whom he was separated; daughter Keikilani, and grandson Nicholas, with whom he Kaleikini often performed during his retirement. His companion in recent times has been Linda Wong.

Kaleikini also had a son, Danjacques, who died at age 29.

Services are pending.