Middle Of The Ocean by Coconut Joe

Sweet Angelina takes the listener on a world tour returning us safely to the cradle of our Island home. Familiar guest musicians from Hawai`i's jazz scene, Gabe Baltazar, Brien Matson, and Rick Broadwell provide a swinging Dixieland horn section to What a Wonderful Day! while vibraphonist, Noel Okimoto sparkles on Sands of Silver and Gold. Both songs showcases two of Hawai`i's favorite beaches. All About Love is a soft rock ballad that's... well,... all about love and Island Rendezvous and Haupia continues the group's musical tour of the islands with up-tempo island pop tunes.

The title track Middle Of The Ocean visits a little club on the forbidden edge of jungle rock and groove while Light Of The Moon explores the introspection side of the CD. Jazzy Hey examines a sensitive relationship and the Evolution Of Joe makes a couple of astute observations while the band unplugs for an acoustic jam.

More information about the group and their new CD is available at their website at www.coconutjoe.com or contact Turtle Bay Records at info@coconutjoe.com

REVIEWS

By Wayne Harada, Honolulu Advertiser Entertainment Editor; Saturday, May 11, 2002

Genre: Contemporary Hawaiian, hapa-haole. Here is a gentle journey through original tropical tunes. Tunes, tales offer retreat into local fun This is an easygoing, tropical treat, with songs that relate to fun in the sun, joy in the water, memories of an island paradise by daylight and by night.

"All About Love," "Sweet Angelina," "Island Rendezvous" and "Haupia" are laid-back tracks projecting a lifestyle in the tropics; it's the perfect companion while relaxing beneath a coconut tree, on a sunny summer afternoon at the beach. Our take: Good-fun listening.

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By John Berger, Honolulu Star Bulletin; Friday, May 10, 2002

Coconut Joe is actually a band led by composer Bob Rogers. The group's second album offers a blend of tropical rock, acoustic blues and modern hapa-haole music that is probably too eclectic for local radio but a rare find for fans of the unconventional.

With aid from a handful of guest musicians, Coconut Joe becomes a blend of Bob Brozman, the Emerson Brothers, Jimmy Buffett and Stealers Wheel, with a dash of Dixieland jazz.

All the songs are originals, and although Rogers' lyrics don't get as whimsical as those of Wiki Waki Woo, several are flavored with somewhat similar nostalgia for tropical yesterdays. Consider "Haupia," the ironic misadventures of a coconut, and "Sweet Angelina," a love song that drifts into calypso territory.

"Sands of Silver And Gold" is a smooth and swinging tune sweetened by studio guest Noel Okimoto on vibes. "Evolution of Joe" strikes a more somber note as the band lists things that Hawaii has lost, or is in danger of losing: sugar cane, a favorite drive-in and a coconut grove.

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by Aloha JOE®; Aloha Joe Internet Radio

"Middle of the Ocean" is a collection of Island-inspired tunes composed by Bob Rogers and performed by the band known as "Coconut Joe." In this, CJ's second album, we find a variety of rhythms - tropical bounce, swing, jazz, light rock and lyrics that sing of bays and beaches we'd all like to visit again. Keep your ears open, as you WILL hear selections from "Middle of the Ocean" on our Aloha Radio Network. It's a contemporary side of island music that I'm sure our listeners (in 100+ countries) will enjoy.

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