PUHI — Alan Faye did not know why he was told to bring his ‘ukulele on Thursday when he arrived at The Plantation House by Gaylord’s at the Kilohana estate.
He was celebrating his 90th birthday at a luncheon coordinated by Jill Faye-Papworth, and was pleasantly surprised to run into Kaua‘i entertainer and composer Larry Rivera.
“Now I know why Jill wanted me to bring the ‘ukulele,” Alan said, unzipping the musical instrument case.
Without any time to check the tuning, a practice that nearly all ‘ukulele players go through ahead of a performance, Alan jumped in to perform with Rivera before the songwriter had to leave for another engagement.
“He and I are going to play together,” Alan said, breaking out in a variation of “Happy Birthday” while Rivera harmonized with a version of his own.
Rivera said that, at 92, he still performs at Cafe Portofino on Tuesday nights, and does other community gigs. He bestowed the birthday boy with a copy of his CD containing some of Faye’s favorite tunes, some historic photos and, of course, the duo performance.
“Hurry up, the food is here,” Alan said while members of his family gathered for a quick photo before the lunch that Alan thought was going to be outdoors instead of the formal dining room.
“I even brought my umbrella,” Alan said.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
