Kawai cockett biography of christopher jackson

Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning

From his first album in to his last recording in , Kawai Cockett embraced the traditional songs of Hawaiians. Kawai Cockett was an old-style musician born and raised on Moloka'i who learned his craft of singing and 'ukulele-strumming the way many of his generation did: by watching and listening to kupuna perform in backyard kanikapila songfests.

That is how I was taught by my na kupuna. Cockett, 67, died Wednesday night at a nursing facility in Kane'ohe after suffering complications from diabetes. He would have celebrated a birthday this Sunday. McDiarmid said he and Cockett had discussed recording another CD, but as Cockett struggled through losing some fingers to diabetes, he shunned the notion of singing without playing his chosen instrument.

It was Don McDiarmid Jr. The entertainer's given name was Kawaikeaniani'ulaokalani Anderson Cockett, but close friends and fans called him Uncle Kawai. It was a path that endeared his kupuna and inspired future generations of musicians eager to trace their Hawaiian roots. Soria Jr. Cockett's career spanned four decades. He'd also chant and play music at 'Iolani Palace and the Waikiki Shell, always with such strong protocol; that's my lasting memory.

For several decades, Rossetti admired Cockett's artistry and shared his joy when he won several Na Hoku awards. She mentioned one thing that most others seldom talked about directly with Cockett: his hairpiece. But that was so Kawai. Besides his recording career, Cockett enjoyed a heyday on the nightclub and showroom circuit over the years.