Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Hawaiian Soil

The sounds of Arthur Lyman recorded in Henry J. Kaiser's Aluminum Dome, outside the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Honolulu, contrasted the native and the modern. The group, their instruments of sound, and their music, are native, pulsatingly primitive, often eerie. The Aluminum Dome is unmistakably modern, the product of 20th centuryt construction genius. Arthur Lyman plays vibes, marimba, and percussions of all kinds, having learned from his Hawaiian father since age 6. Joh  Kramer plays bass, ukelele, guitar, flute, clarinet and percussions. Alan Soares is pianist, plays celeste, gutar and percussions. Harold Chang is a percussion virtuoso, and plays xylophone. The bird calss heard are from actual birds, with some imitative calls by Lyman and Kramer. Arthur Lyman's group entertains enthusiastic listeners in the Tiara Room at the Hawaiian Village Hotel where they now appear nightly.
Kaiser's Aluminum Dome is a half-sphere, seating about 1,500 persons, is used for live entertainment and movie showings. Its ingenious simplicity and structural design and ideal sound form suggest its wider use for low cost auditoriums of pleasing space age appearance. We chose this place for our recording because the half shape has no "peaks" and allows a pleasing "easy" sound reproduction with natural room acoustical reverberation. As you listen you will hear the unique effects produced by moving percussions, giving a certain sound perspective which intrigues. Oh, yes, the ocean sounds here are real pacific salt water waves. Native Cries are well, weird but real. - Original Liner Notes; 1958


Grabbed this (near mint) for 50 cents a couple weeks back at Columbus. To my knowledge this is the liner notes' first time online. 

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