BIG KAHUNA & THE COPA CAT PACK
Shake Those Hula Hips (Concord)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

---

Thumbing blindly through the CD rack, it would be easy for one to mistake this for just another oddity of the lounge revival. One would be wrong. This is real swing music played by a mid-sized band making a big-band sound. Led by Matt Catingub (alto sax, vocals, piano), Big Kahuna & The Copa Cat Pack transport you to a carefree time, and the place is the dance hall. Dance you will, too, brother, because the energy is set on high and you just can't be apathetic about the huge, brassy sounds (five saxes, three trumpets, two trombones and no clarinets to add any apparently unwanted woody tones). While all that brass is a'blowin' tunes like "Avalon," "Hey Baby! (Shake Those Hula Hips)," the themes to "I Dream Of Jeanie" and "Hawaii Five-0" and such eyebrow raising titles as "Princess Poo-poo-ly Has Plenty Papaya," bassist Dan Parentti and drummer Steve Moretti are absolutely swinging their asses off. By the time they get to "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," you have a new appreciation for the song. As if it was even necessary, Catingub brought in some guest vocalists, so I figure "What the hell? I'm going with the flow," because Rosemary Clooney is one of 'em, and as an added bonus, Debbie Boone is spectacular on a pair of songs that allow me to associate her with something other than that God-awful "You Light Up My Life" nonsense. Thanks, Deb! Put simply, this is one of the most consistently entertaining and even thrilling CDs of the year in any genre.

© 2001 - DJ Johnson