We’re pleased that the first subject in HAWAII Magazine’s new “Portraits in Paradise” feature is Maui singer-songwriter-chanter-kumu hula-cultural specialist Kealii Reichel. 

Reichel was unknown in 1994, when his first album, Kawaipunahele, burst on to the scene, dominating Hawaiian radio, the Billboard Magazine World Music Chart and that year’s Na Hoku Hanohano music awards. He's followed up with four more albums over the years, winning 17 Na Hoku awards, a Grammy nomination and a national recording contract.

He’s performed in Japan and across the Mainland, including a 1997 Carnegie Hall concert with his hula halau (group). He’s also earned a reputation as the best-paid Hawaiian act, but one who refuses to compromise, giving authentic Hawaiian culture a voice on the world stage.

He rarely gives interviews any more, but we were lucky to catch up him in a small Wailuku, Maui restaurant called Main Street Bistro, where the food was good and the conversation even better. 

You'll find our "Portraits in Paradise" feature on Reichel in the January/February 2010 issue of HAWAII Magazine, arriving in subscriber mailboxes and on sale nationwide in the weeks ahead. Look for more "Portraits in Paradise" features on Hawaii's rich tapestry of artists, musicians, cultural leaders and fascinating residents in future issues of HAWAII.

As we promised at the end of the magazine feature, here’s our complete interview with Reichel.

HAWAII: Is there going to be a new Kealii Reichel album?

REICHEL: I don’t know. I’m sure one day there will be one, one day, one last one. I have a few songs in the can, but recording is not my focus in my life right now.

HAWAII: You’re on your way to hula practice. Is hula now your focus?

REICHEL: Hula has always been the mainstay of what I do. A lot of people only know me as the recording artist or singer. A lot of people forget, or maybe just don’t know, I’ve been teaching hula for almost 30 years now. Hula and our halau have always been the foundation from which everything else springs.

HAWAII: I’ve heard that no matter where you are in the world, you always fly back for hula practice.

REICHEL: Pretty much. I have student leaders who can take the class, but I don’t like missing more than a week, especially just before a big concert. Now we’re involved with (the) Merrie Monarch (Hula Festival). That takes a huge chunk of time and discipline on my end as well as on the students.

People have no idea the amount of work that goes into a hula performance. I don’t teach hula for exercise. When dancers come to our halau, at some point they are going to be expected to perform. If they want exercise, go to a gym.




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