About The Professah
“The Professah” (Randy Wong) is a consummate musician, author, and historian of tiki pop music & culture. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mr. Wong performs throughout the world in pop, exotica, orchestral, and jazz/world markets. Though trained as a classical double bassist by Todd Seeber at New England Conservatory, Mr. Wong is also a formidable improvisor who has toured, recorded, or performed with Brother Ah, Mark Walker, Susan Werner, Mike Dease, Tim Mayer, Zaccai Curtis, Harold Chang, Abe Lagrimas Jr., Don Tiki, Sherry Shaoling, Robert Drasnin, Jon Yamasato, Lopaka Colon, and Sharel Cassity, and having studied with Cecil McBee, Michael Cain, and Keala Kaumeheiwa. Orchestrally, Mr. Wong can be seen most frequently with the Orchestra of Indian Hill, New Hampshire Symphony, and the Nashua Symphony; and on occasion with the Honolulu Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Miami’s Project Copernicus chamber orchestra, and many others.
Equally accomplished as an composer/arranger, band leader, and record producer, Mr. Wong’s music is regularly featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Weekend America, and All Things Considered programs, the Pentagon Channel, and the DoD’s Armed Forces Network. His original compositions for WAITIKI/The Waitiki 7 have garnered awards from the Music Foundation of Hawai’i and a nomination from the Ontario (Canada) Independent Music Awards. In 2007, a Project Copernicus performance of his violin concerto “L’ours Chinois” was ranked #4 in the Palm Beach Post’s Top 10 Classical Music Concerts. Since 2006, Wong has produced records for ukulele magnate Jim Beloff/Flea Market Music, including the Australian best-seller Rare Air and the Hawaii Music Award-winning Paradise Lost & Found.
Recent recording projects (as of July, 2010) include chart-topping albums by The WAITIKI 7 (Adventures in Paradise and New Sounds of Exotica) for Waitiki International LLC, acclaimed for their “substantial improvisational firepower” (JAZZIZ) and as “the band to beat” (Nate Chinen). Both albums made history for modern exotica music by charting on the JazzWeek World and Jazz Charts—Adventures in Paradise peaking at #2 and New Sounds of Exotica peaking at #6—and at CMJ Jazz (peaking at #12 and #9, respectively).
Mr. Wong is Founder and President of WAITIKI INTERNATIONAL LLC, a tiki consulting firm in the areas of music, mixology, event planning, and design. Since 2003, WAITIKI INTERNATIONAL has provided music and/or cocktails for numerous corporate, private, cultural, and non-profit events, throughout the United States, Mexico, and Germany. Nicknamed “The Professah” by numerous WAITIKI fans, Mr. Wong takes pride in educating audiences and constituents about exotica music, and its influences—both in the creation of the music, and the cultural implications it presents.
Ed. M. (Arts In Education), Harvard University. M.M. (Musicology), New England Conservatory [in progress]. Graduate Studies (Double Bass Performance), Carnegie Mellon University. B.M. (Double Bass Performance), New England Conservatory.
1 Comment:
Hey Randy,
I have been meaning to check this out for a while. Looks like a great read. Can’t wait to get started.
Jack