There have been many changes this year, so this page will just give you only a taste of things. Sorry it has been so long since I last updated this page.
LIVE JAZZ
You can get weekly listings of jazz happenings at the Honolulu Jazz Scene. Webmaster Clay, is truly doing a great service, however, you should check with the venue before following his or my suggestions as events do change. He adds new jazz happenings that are sent his way, but rarely removes gigs that are no longer happening, so please surf over to the venue's website first or give the place a call. A few musicians have their own MySpace accounts, blogs, and e-mail lists for updated info. I've provided links to musicians' sites when I have them.
You really have to check out these websites, as there is no one place for jazz in Honolulu. Jazz Minds Art & Cafe (1661 Kapiolani Blvd., tel: 945-0800) was started with a dream of being Honolulu's dedicated jazz venue, but more often seems to feature comedy, salsa, reggae or hiphop these days.
Some good regular jazz gigs now include:
DeShannon Higa knows his standards, and has real funky riffs with a bit of edge (which is the way i like it!). Higa's gr00ve.imProV.arTiSts or The Listening Party play some evenings at the Hanohana Room (Sheraton Waikiki). The view and drinks were also good, although the place lacks atmosphere IMHO. Higa's Quadpod plays at the Dragon Upstairs (above Hanks Cafe on 1038 Nu'uanu St.) in Chinatown.
The Satomi Yarimizo Quartet (above) plays Saturdays at the Dragon Upstairs (above Hanks Cafe on 1038 Nu'uanu St.) in Chinatown. [Calendar]. My favorite days to catch this are when she plays with DeShannon Higa and saxaphonist Reggie Padilla as Bop Tribal (twice a month). Satomi also plays on Fridays at Shigezo (808 Kapahulu Ave), and on Sundays at the Chuck's Cellar (Ohana East Hotel, 150 Kaiulani Ave). I should add that Reggie has a new band called Family Dinner.
If you like straight-ahead jazz, there are gigs various evenings at the Mariposa Bar in Neiman Marcus (Ala Moana) (Check out Miles Jackson's Milestone Jazz Trio).
The Honolulu Club (932 Ward Ave) has some good gigs on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (6 - 9 pm, 932 Ward Ave, 7th floor).
Shoji Ledward had regular guitar gigs at the Contemporary Museum Café and Formaggio (2919 Kapiolani Blvd./ Market City Shopping Center, 739-7719)
NEW JASS QUARTET [dead link?] used to make Thursday appearances (along with discounted sushi and no cover) at Sansei Seafood Bar and Sushi Waikiki (@ the Marriot Hotel, 2552 Kalakaua Ave). I'm not sure if this is still happening. I see that Justin James has his own website.
Jackie Ward has some private gigs at her home. They are not public, but are a lot of fun.
RADIO
Check out Don Gordon spinning jazz platters weekdays (M-TH) from 8 PM to midnight on Hawaii Public Radio station KIPO (89.7 FM) and streaming online. (I'm not a big fan of Seth Markow's The Real Deal, but that is on Friday and Saturday mights, and supposedly has featured jazz for 25 years). KIPO also offers "Piano Jazz on with Marian McPartland" on Sundays from 4pm, and "Jazz After Hours" (after midnight on Saturday).
University station KTUH (90.3 FM) plays/ streams jazz at various times. Justin James and Ryan Kunimura had a great show on Tuesday mornings that played really hip jazz frontiers. [Other alternative: BBC Jazz Player]
Honolulu doesn't have a great indie jazz record store, but you can find some CDs at Border's. Also check out the State Public Library System and UH's Sinclair Library.
Disclaimers: