Swingtime in Honolulu!

Waikïkï was full of revelry and glamour during the Swingtime era, but it wasn't the only place where people were getting down. The Alexander Young Hotel on the corner of King and Bishop streets (where Tamarind Park is now located) became the downtown spot for Big Band dancing on Friday nights. "My parents would drive down from the North Shore every Friday night to go dancing at the hotel's Rooftop Garden," recalls Dana Fujikake. Fujikake is, as Abe Weinstein's assistant, helping to organize this year's festival, now in its 11th year. Weinstein, who is the founder and executive director, adds, "What strikes me is that this was all part of an integrated lifestyle. Local people and tourists were all coming together and Swing dancing. There was a lot of partying. Everybody was swept away by it."

A “Battle of the Bands” between two military swing bands, about 1943. Photo Courtesy U.S. Army Museum of Hawai‘i

Johnny Noble played a big part. The Hawai'i-born Noble took over the Moana Orchestra in 1920 and was regarded as the King of Hawaiian Swing. He understood the similarities between Hawaiian songs and Mainland jazz syncopation and wrote compositions that synthesized the two beautifully. This became known as hapa-haole music and it set the tone for the introduction of Big Band Swing music later.

Harry Owens was another key player. Arriving from the Mainland in 1934, Owens was a trumpet player who went on to become the elegant leader of The Royal Hawaiian Big Band. When his ship rounded Diamond Head, he looked at the beach and said, "I've been born again." Owens, his Royal Hawaiian Big Band and Hilo Hattie flew to the Mainland to perform a live broadcast at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. The reception was phenomenal. "People heard this unique sound and fell in love with it, and it served as a catalyst for Hawai'i tourism," says Weinstein. "This is the period when all the beach boys were making big tip money and high-end tourists were staying at the Royal for two or three months at a time and dancing."

This year's festival presents hapa-haole music and Big Band Swing, giving everyone a front-row seat to the evolution of jazz in the Islands. According to Weinstein, "It's going to be educational for everyone, but it will really bring back a lot of great memories for the old-timers."