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Topic: Jules Ah See bio |
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 3:28 am |
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Jules is one of my all-time favorites. He could swing til the cows came home or play a ballad with exquisite touch and tone. Jules is something of a mystery man. Here's a bio I recently discovered, written in 1958.
One of my favorite of Jules' performances. I transcribed it (C13th: C, Bb, C, E, G, A, C, E) and it's on my book site - just terrific Hawaiian swing; IMHO, right up there on the highest steel guitar pedestal with Joaquin and Noel.
https://clyp.it/kolfj5kc?fbclid=IwAR1Qa3Dcv3VHNcdkVD_JnRWRI7zIRxBCAjhgf5qynrTRIpY3AlPfE-GrUUo
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com
Last edited by Andy Volk on 16 Jul 2020 5:56 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 4:49 am
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Great find!
That is a great cut off of the Tapa Room Tapes. One of my favorites of his playing there is "Hanohano Hawaii" (he sings lead on it, too):
https://archive.org/details/TapaRoomTapes/07+Hanohano+Hawaii.mp3
I've been interested in researching more about Jules' history. Here's a bit of what I've found:
His obituary...ask different people about how he died, get different answers, though. But this at least would be the official story...
His daughter Yolanda married the next year.
Still refer to him as "Cyril" although from everything I can tell it is "Cryles". I think his daughter actually passed away just last year from what I could tell, don't know about his son.
His widow Rebecca Ah See remarried, to a Missourian (we DO sometimes make it to Hawaii!  ) who managed KCCN radio, which is interesting...some ties there to Territorial Airwaves perhaps. His obituary:
And this was Jules' mother in law who passed away in 1955:
He's interred at Diamond Head Memorial Park...just a bit "stage left" of his old bandleader Alfred Apaka. Took this pic on my "pilgrimage" there last year.
Here's some old census records from 1940:
https://www.archives.com/GA.aspx?_act=ImageViewCensus1940&FirstName=Jules-Ah&LastName=See&Location=HI&UniqueId=11939753&type=census&folderImageSeq=
His father Peter Ah See was widowed, apparently, at that point. Working as a machinist for Schofield W.P.A....probably when they were building the barracks around that time. 3 older sisters (maybe more younger / underage for the census), two working as private family servants, Jules at a young 15 looking for work. Were renting a house at 1120 5th Avenue, in Honolulu. House that is there now is huge, owned by Sacred Hearts (Catholic organization across the street), and per records looks like it was built in 1961 so the old housing Jules was in was apparently torn down. From the BMG article it sounds like he was already making music at that age, but in a few years would join the Army for a year or two.
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Don Kona Woods
From:
Hawaiian Kama'aina
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 9:10 am
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Nic and Andy,
Thank you (Mahalo) for all this excellent biographical information.
Jules was the best Hawaiian Steel Guitar player of all time. This was and is supported by the professional steel guitar players in Hawaii. |
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Walter Webb
From:
California, USA
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 9:58 am
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I don't understand real Hawaiian lyrics, or how to pronounce them. Are these words correct?
https://www.bethsnotesplus.com/2015/12/youre-at-a-luau-now.html
First you ‘ai (eye) some fish and poi
Pipikaula and some moi
Then you have some okolehau
You’re at a luau now
Then you taste kalua pig
Ina, wana, limu too
Ina mona and haupia
You’re at a luau now
The poi is `ula`ula, kamanu is too
And laulau tastes so good to you
`Alamihi and `opihi is always okay
The chicken and the laiki loloa
The hula girlies (maidens) dance for you
Kanes and wahines too
In the true Hawaiian style
You’re at a luau now |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 10:12 am
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First you ‘ai (eye) some fish and poi
--'ai means eat, poi is pounded kalo/taro paste, the classic Hawaiian staple food (also good for putting up wallpaper  )
Pipikaula and some moi
--pipikaula is a very tasty dried beef preparation, a bit like jerky...moi a type of fish
Then you have some okolehau
--okolehao is basically Hawaiian moonshine, originally distilled from ti plant roots but probably just made with whatever was on hand.
Then you taste kalua pig
--the classic kalua pork cooked whole in an 'imu (underground oven)...a lot like pulled pork.
Ina, wana, limu too
--ina and wana are types of sea urchin, limu means seaweed
Ina mona and haupia
--inamona is ground roasted candlenut, haupia a delicious coconut pudding
The poi is `ula`ula, kamanu is too
--'ula'ula seems to be a type of taro but also means red. Kamanu is salmon
And laulau tastes so good to you
--butterfish/chicken/pork wrapped in leaves (usually ti or kalo on the outside I think) and steamed in the 'imu
`Alamihi and `opihi is always okay
--crab, and opihi are these little sea snails, a delicacy
The chicken and the laiki loloa
--laiki means rice, loloa being a modifier...long...ahh! chicken long rice, which is actually a funny name, for their bean thread noodle soup.
(BTW if ever in Hawaii, I gather the place to get a lot of this kind of stuff is Helena's Hawaiian Foods (also liked Da Ono Hawaiian). At least, you're more likely to get real Hawaiian food at some of those places than at an actual commercially put-on luau)
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Duane Becker
From:
Elk,Wa 99009 USA
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 11:28 am
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| Thanks for the bio and information. Jules is my all time favorite Hawaiian steel player as well. |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 12:55 pm
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Andy, in that C13th tuning that you quote, is the bottom C string a full octave below the next one up?
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Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 1:40 pm
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Jules C13 uses a low C for the 8 string (yes, an octave down from string 6). Something between 60-70 gauge works pretty well in my experience.
It sounds -really- nice if you have a nice bassy amp
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 16 Jul 2020 2:27 pm
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What Nic said.
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 9 Feb 2021 8:36 am
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Found this one just recently, figured I'd add to this thread. I guess that's Jules working for the HPD in 1949...makes sense why his best friend mentioned in his obit was a police sergeant.
Playing an armpit guitar no less, and backing Sergeant Sterling Mossman (of "Barefoot Bar" fame, later).
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Duane Becker
From:
Elk,Wa 99009 USA
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Posted 9 Feb 2021 7:10 pm
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Jules is my favorite Hawaiian players and ranks up there at the top too for swing too. I wonder how he would have sounded with say Bob Wills or Spade Cooley?
I'm working on a couple of his songs from the Webley Edwards Hawaiian Strings ST 1152. Right now going through Hawaiian Vamp. His hammer ons and pull off are very tricky. I notice his playing is very hard to copy and its very hard if not impossible to sound like him. I absolutely love his version of Sand as well. |
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Marc Bell
From:
Surat Thani, TH
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 10 Feb 2021 4:01 am
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Wow, that's interesting...literally just over the back fence to where he, and Alfred, and many others of his contemporaries (Haunani, Barney Isaacs, Billy Hew Len, etc) are interred in Diamond Head Memorial Park. It's a pretty, and somewhat calm by southern O'ahu standards, neighborhood though. Zestimate at a million and it needs a paint job...sigh, not moving there any time soon I guess.
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Jean-Sebastien Gauthier
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 10 Feb 2021 10:31 am
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I love this tread! Jules Ah See is my favorite steel player! Before that it was Joaquin Murphey but the first time I heard the Tapa Room Tapes I was in shock! I think he is the most exiting musicien to with Django Reinhard and Louis Armstrong!
I love him so much that I just bought a Magnatone Lyric D8 and I'm currently working on Pagan Love Song.
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 5:14 am
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Aloha e Jean-Sebastien,
There's a pretty good version of Pagan Love Song on Alfred Apaka's Sing Me A Song of the Islands (of course, in addition to the Tapa Room Tapes), starts out slow and kicks up a bit...I think Basil Henriques said Jules played it on pedal (Fender 1000) which I wouldn't doubt, later 50s stuff with Alfred used a lot of pedal.
I'd love to know what his copedent was...something perhaps lost to the mist of time...
You can hear one clear use of pedals here, at the end of this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=140&v=Na_y2_4UKlI&feature=youtu.be
It's like a C6 tuning (or similar structured 6th tuning) where he plays an arpeggio up, 3, 5, 6, 1, 3...then the root (second string) flattens to a maj7...probably cause he mashed or released a pedal. Cool stuff...he never sounded like country pedal steel, he and the others (like Barney Isaacs or especially Billy Hew Len) used the pedals more for chords and the pedal sound was often hard to pick up on. Big fan of Basil's copedent though my attempts to learn it on my 400 have been mixed at best...I'm lucky enough to get two hands working together, much less two feet as well...
BTW, beautiful Magnatone!
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 6:09 am
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Terrific Magnatone guitar ....and I agree about Jules; he was superb on both swinging, uptempo songs and beautiful Hawaiian ballads. I transcribed his playing on "You're at a Luau Now" and man, that was a tough one because of all the syncopation that made it swing.
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 11 Feb 2021 6:30 am
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| Andy Volk wrote: |
| I transcribed his playing on "You're at a Luau Now" and man, that was a tough one because of all the syncopation that made it swing. |
hey Andy, did you manage to figure out the final chord? Maybe 7th chord at 10th fret but with second string open to get the 9th? Sure sounds like a 9th, but not one of the usual slant type ones in C6...
Edit: I may be ignoring an obvious possibility given his tapa room setup...sliding into fret 6 on his E13 neck...
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 12 Feb 2021 7:21 am
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I did this a while ago so I'd have to go back forensically on that one. In general, when transcribing, I'm less concerned with exactly how a musician played something - in what way, on what string, what fret - than with whether it sounds right in the flow of my transcription and whether I'm capturing the spirit of what I hear on their recording.
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Francisco Castillo
From:
Easter Island, Chile
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Posted 14 Feb 2021 6:15 pm
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| Nic Neufeld wrote: |
The poi is `ula`ula, kamanu is too
--'ula'ula seems to be a type of taro but also means red. Kamanu is salmon
And laulau tastes so good to you
--butterfish/chicken/pork wrapped in leaves (usually ti or kalo on the outside I think) and steamed in the 'imu
`Alamihi and `opihi is always okay
--crab, and opihi are these little sea snails, a delicacy
The chicken and the laiki loloa
--laiki means rice, loloa being a modifier...long...ahh! chicken long rice, which is actually a funny name, for their bean thread noodle soup.
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Hi all.
Hawaian and Easter Island (Rapa Nui) are similar languages. And Tahitian too. They all share same roots. I once went to Tahiti, and made myself understood speaking Rapa Nui cause i dont speak french. In a Ferry they even charged me "local's price" cause the guy said we are brothers (i come from mainland, not Easter native).
Po'i = po'e the mashed taro food.
'ula' ula = 'ura' ura (not exactly red, its the color of the lobster, mea mea = red, mea = fish gill)
Loloa = Roaroa
Laiki = raiti
They sound super similar... |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 15 Feb 2021 4:36 am
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I was struck by the similarity too. If I recall correctly, there was a (mostly discredited?) theory that Rapa Nui was settled from the east by South American voyagers, but I just can't imagine how that theory could hold water given how close the Polynesian language systems are. Hawaiian actually seems to be a bit of an odd one out, in that the other letters common to many Polynesian language systems (t, r, ng, f, etc.) were removed, or at least converted to other existing letters. Would love to visit Rapa Nui someday, have to make do with "visiting" it on iFit video workouts for now though!
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Jean-Sebastien Gauthier
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 17 Feb 2021 5:35 am
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Hi guys can you suggest me some great recording from Jules Ah See?
I realized that I listen to the Tapa Room Tapes everyday but I dont know much of his working outside of that.
Is he always the steel player on Alfred Apaka recordings?
Thanks! |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 17 Feb 2021 8:29 am
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| Jean-Sebastien Gauthier wrote: |
Hi guys can you suggest me some great recording from Jules Ah See?
I realized that I listen to the Tapa Room Tapes everyday but I dont know much of his working outside of that.
Is he always the steel player on Alfred Apaka recordings?
Thanks! |
I would say he is a common foil to Alfred on his later recordings, but not always. Hawaiian Favorites, for instance, was Danny Stewart. The ones I'd recommend that I -believe- were Jules..."My Isle of Golden Dreams", "...Sings The Hawaiian Wedding Song", and "Webley Edwards Presents the Golden Voice of the Islands". Maybe also "Sing Me a Song of the Islands". Discogs plus an MP3 converting turntable can help you get those! I also bought "South Sea Island Magic" because it specifically called out the Hawaiian Village Serenaders, but I found that recording a bit lackluster in comparison.
Hawaii Calls albums are another good resource. Ones I would particularly recommend: "Hawaiian Shores", "Hawaiian Strings", and "Hawaii Calls: Waikiki!". Those are the ones I've worn out the grooves on in my mind at least. "Shores" in particular is just a classic. Some of it may be Barney Isaacs but I think most of those is Jules as primary.
Another really classic middle-era Jules showcase is Benny Kalama's Echoes of Hawaii. Really strongly recommend that one, I discovered it more recently and love it.
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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Jean-Sebastien Gauthier
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 17 Feb 2021 9:24 am
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Thanks a lot Nic!
I have a MP3 converting turntable, I will look for those recording! |
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Joe Burke
From:
Toronto, Canada
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Posted 17 Feb 2021 10:29 am
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Thanks Jean-Sebastien for the question, and Nic for the answer. I'll try and find these as well.
Benny Kalama's Echoes of Hawaii is on Spotify. I'm barely into it, but it sounds great.
Spotify also has an album called "Hawaii Calls Orchestra Al Kealoha Perry Sounds of Old Hawaii". It has some lovely tracks, and I believe Jules is on many of them. Though is anyone know who else is on, I'd love to know. |
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Nic Neufeld
From:
Kansas City, Missouri
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Posted 17 Feb 2021 11:56 am
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| Joe Burke wrote: |
| Spotify also has an album called "Hawaii Calls Orchestra Al Kealoha Perry Sounds of Old Hawaii". It has some lovely tracks, and I believe Jules is on many of them. Though is anyone know who else is on, I'd love to know. |
I'm having a hard time locating anything by that name, unless it is Hawaii Today: New Sounds of Old Hawaii:
https://www.discogs.com/Webley-Edwards-Hawaii-Calls-Hawaii-Today/release/11218264
I don't have that one, but from reading about it, its from 1966. Long after Jules' untimely death (sometimes they rereleased old recordings, but based on the song list, these sound like later recordings).
Here's one made famous by Don Ho, wasn't even written til 1964:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7cdewX30Ac
There were others who played for Hawaii Calls but the cool chordal voicings, and trebley "whine" of the tone, that's gotta be Barney Isaacs IMO. (Side note...its not Jules, but get a copy of Steel Guitar Magic if you don't have one...Barney and Billy Hew Len duetting, its easy to start to identify their respective sound and styles)
_________________
Waikīkī, at night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to me |
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