Michael Grande

Noel Okimoto: Ho'ihi

by Jack Bowers
March 13, 2025

Honolulu-born Noel Okimoto has been playing drums professionally since he was eleven years old. He has learned over the years to supervise the drum kit with equanimity and deference, a standard that Okimoto's octet endorses when approaching the music on his second album as a leader, Ho'ihi (ho-ee-hee), a Hawaiian phrase that translates roughly into “treat with reverence and respect." While Okimoto is a proud son of the Islands, those who are searching for Hawaiian-inspired themes will ...