Keali'i Reichel

Carleton Lewis Kealiinaniaimokuokalani Reichel (born 1961) popularly known as Kealii Reichel, is a popular and bestselling singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, chanter, scholar, teacher, and personality from the State of Hawaii. He has spent his life educating the world about Hawaiian culture through music and dance.

Kealii (pronounced Kay-ah-LEE-ee) Reichel was born and raised on the island of Maui. Reichel grew up in the town of Lahaina where he attended Lahainaluna High School, however he spent weekends and summers with his maternal grandmother in the plantation town of P?ia. At the age of 24, Reichel was convicted of theft, and was sentenced to community service, which involved a study of Hawaiian culture. This marked a turning point in his life, as he decided to devote the rest of his life to the study and promotion of Hawaiian culture.

Reichel was one of the founding directors for Punana Leo O Maui, a Hawaiian language immersion pre-school. He has taught Hawaiian culture and language at the University of Hawaii's, Maui Community College, and he was the Cultural Resource Specialist and curator at the Bailey House Museum in Wailuku.

Hawaiian music

Reichel studied Hawaiian dance and vocals under Kumu hula (dance instructor/choreographer/master) Pualani Kanakaole Kanahele, daughter of the kumu hula and Hawaiian scholar "Aunty" Edith Kanakaole. He later founded his own hula halau (Hawaiian dance troop) Halau hula o ka Makani Wili Makaha o Kauaula now called Halau Kealaokamaile

In 1994, at the age of 33, he recorded and released a collection of Hawaiian traditional and contemporary music entitled Kawaipunahele on his own Punahele Productions record label, and began his career as a Hawaiian music superstar. Reichel's subsequent albums,Lei Halia (1995), ?E O Mai (1997), and Melelana (1999), placed him securely at the top of the Hawaiian music entertainment industry. He is also featured in two anthology albums released by his record label, Pride of Punahele (1998) and Pride of Punahele 2 (2003). In 2004, his album of the previous year, Kealaokamaile (2003), won four of the top awards at the 27th Annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii's regional equivalent of the Grammy Awards) including Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Hawaiian Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

Reichel's style most often includes vocals over a guitar, bass, and ukulele ensemble but may also include a Western (European-American) string quartet (violin, viola and cello) or traditional pre-1778 Hawaiian instruments. His vocals include Hawaiian language chanting and singing in both Hawaiian and English. Stage performances include dance in both traditional and modern hula forms. He also plays guitar.

Theater

Kealii performed in the Maui Academy of Performing Arts production of Jesus Christ Superstar as Jesus.

International recognition

Reichel currently has contracts with JVC Victor Entertainment and Atlantic/Time-Warner. Kealii Reichel's consistent placement in Billboard Magazine's World Music Charts has garnered him international attention. He has opened concerts for Bonnie Raitt, LeAnn Rimes, C?line Dion, and Sting. In addition to his regular concerts in Hawaii, he has toured the United States mainland playing in such places as New York at Carnegie Hall, San Diego, San Francisco, Anaheim, Hollywood Bowl, Phoenix, and toured internationally with concerts in Tahiti, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan, where he has performed to a sold out audience.

Reichel is known not only for his artistry as a performer, song writer and recording artist, but also for his work as a teacher of Hawaiian culture to the rest of the world.

The Hawaii Academy of Recording Artists - Na Hoku Hanohano Awards

Favorite Entertainer of the Year

Male Vocalist of the Year

Most Promising Artist of the Year

Album of the Year

Song of the Year

Hawaiian Album of the Year

Haku Mele (new Hawaiian language composition; award to the composer )