Grand Wailea To Host Maui Jazz and Blues Festival

By Vanessa Wolf

Skip Martin. Courtesy photo.

September 13th through 16th, the Grand Wailea will be hosting the second annual Maui Jazz and Blues Festival.

Events kick off on Thursday, September 13th from 6-9 p.m. at Capische in Wailea.

Three to four jazz musicians will play and mingle with guests while they enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine in the garden. Tickets are $55 in advance or $65 at the door. Call (808)-879-2224 for more information or to make a reservation.

On Friday, September 14th, there will be a jazz and blues sunset cruise from 5-7 p.m. on the Kai Kanani. Tickets are $106.09 per person and the boat is boarded at the Makena Beach and Golf Resort. Call (808)-879-7218 to book a spot.

Also on Friday, the Botero Bar at the Grand Wailea will be featuring sneak peak special guest appearances from 7-9 p.m. There is no cover and valet parking is available.

The main festival is on Saturday, September 15th. It runs from 4:30-9 p.m. at the Grand Wailea in the oceanfront Molokini Garden. Tickets are $50 in advance (through this Friday, September 7th) or $60 after that and can be purchased online at http://www.mauijazzandbluesfestival.com/index.html. VIP tables for 10 are also available for $1000. The tables are located in the front row on the side of the stage and have access to waitstaff for food and beverage orders.

Who will be featured during the festival? Grammy award winner Skip Martin of Kool and the Gang (who doesn’t love Kool and the Gang?) for one! Martin joined Kool & the Gang in 1987 as its lead vocalist. The band is best known for the songs “Celebration,” “Cherish,” and “Ladies’ Night.”

Also appearing are Grammy winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal, Grammy winning blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker, Na Hoku winner Brother Noland Blues, and many others. The full lineup is available on the website link above.

Finally, the morning of Sunday, September 16th brings a Molokini snorkel sail on the Kai Kanani for $144.67 per person. The boat leaves from the Makena Beach and Golf resort at 9 a.m. and returns at 1 p.m. A continental breakfast and lunch are provided. Call (808)-879-7218 to reserve your space.

If you aren’t up quite early enough for the snorkel cruise, consider the live jazz breakfast brunch at the Grand from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The brunch is $49 per person ($25 for children 5-12) and offers such delights as handmade malasadas, a carving station with roasted prime rib and smoked Kurobuta ham, a seafood bar featuring snow crab legs…and champagne. Can’t make it next Sunday? A little poking around on the Grand Wailea site indicated the buffet is available every Sunday and – as the concierge put it – the champagne flows “until you aren’t walking. Then they will stop you.” Call (808)-875-1234 for reservations.

Blues? Jazz? Champagne? Skip Martin of Kool and the Gang? It’s clear what you need to do.