When Matt Catingub was just 15 years old in September of 1976, he took the stage at the Tom Moffatt Waikīkī Shell. His mother, Mavis Rivers, known as Polynesia’s First Lady of Song, was singing at a jazz festival and asked him to conduct.
Over his career, he has been a conductor, composer, musical arranger, big band leader, pianist and saxophonist, and singer. Catingub was also a longtime conductor of a pops series for the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, which preceded the current symphony.
“When I became the pops conductor, I wanted to have a Hawaiian artist in the first half of every concert we did,” he said. “And then that started to evolve. If I can really turn the time back, one of the artists we had was Pure Heart, but that was Jake Shimabukuro’s group before he became as popular as he is.”
Other featured entertainers included Raiatea Helm, Na Leo Pilimehana, and more.
Now 50 years later, he will take the stage for a one-night-only performance of “Matt Catingub: From Samoa to Sinatra” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall.
Catingub recently spoke with Aloha State Daily while traveling through Montana on a tour with his band.
“ʻFrom Samoa to Sinatra’ is my recording that I had put out a couple years ago to celebrate my mother, and she is on the recording, as well,” he said, referring to the album released in 2023, which also features Amy Hanaialiʻi.
His mother died in 1992, as previously reported by Los Angeles Times, but her recorded voice is part of the 2023 album and will be featured as part of the upcoming performance in Honolulu, he said.
The musical tribute explores his roots in Samoa — he was given the Samoan chief’s title of Laʻauli by King Malietoa Tanumafili II — as well as the big band and jazz sounds that shaped his career.
“My mom says I started picking out music when I was seven years old,” he told ASD. “I’d go to the piano and start playing everything by ear.”
She encouraged him to start playing clarinet in school.
“And that led me to saxophone, which was my original first instrument,” he said. “Then, I really started becoming more of a piano player and a singer. It's evolved.”
By the time Catingub was 17, he was sharing an original big band composition at the Monterey Jazz Festival. He also traveled and performed around the world with his mother, including for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip at the Royal Variety Performance in 1983.
After high school, he joined the big bands of Louie Bellson and Toshiko Akiyoshi as the featured lead alto saxophonist. At 21, he had formed the Matt Catingub Big Band, with his mother as the vocalist.
In 1995, he became a solo artist and made his solo singing debut as part of the Frank Sinatra Celebration at Carnegie Hall, alongside Linda Ronstadt. His career includes writing and performing music for the George Clooney film “Goodnight and Good Luck,” where he also appears on screen.
For the upcoming concert with HSO, Honolulu listeners can expect a range of music, according to Catingub.
“I'm celebrating — as much as I can in an hour, literally — 50 years of being in the business,” he said. “But I'm of course focusing on my time with the symphony and the ʻFrom Samoa to Sinatra’ pieces.”
The upcoming performance will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of when Rosemary Clooney recorded a live album with Catingub, his band the Big Kahuna and Copa Cat Pack, and HSO at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall. Released after her death, it was called “The Last Concert (Live)” and the music was arranged by Catingub, who also plays piano and alto saxophone for some of the songs.
Available tickets start at $50. Get tickets.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
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