Rene Paulo (born in 1930 - January 12, 2023) was an American pianist. Born in the rural district of Schofield, Wisconsin, Paulo grew up in

Wahiawa Wahiawa ( haw, Wahiawā, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawa District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise the ...

, Hawaii. His grandparents on his mother's side were from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, becoming naturalized US citizens after his grandfather joined the US military. Rene's musical background was in classical music, and he studied briefly at the Juilliard School of Music in New York with Lonnie Epstein and Gerald Tracy. He soon branched out into improvisation, listening to jazz pianists such as

Art Tatum Arthur Tatum Jr. (, October 13, 1909 – November 5, 1956) was an American jazz pianist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest in his field. From early in his career, Tatum's technical ability was regarded by fellow musicians as extraord ...

Alec Templeton Alec Andrew Templeton (4 July 1909/1028 March 1963) was a Welsh composer, pianist, and satirist. Templeton was born in Cardiff, Wales. There is some confusion concerning Alec Templeton's year of birth. Most published and Internet biographies g ...

, Fats Waller,

Earl "Fatha" Hines Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, " ...

, and boogie woogie styles. He is known as "Hawaii's Favorite and Most Famous Pianist" and has been invited repeatedly to perform in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Paulo played with famous artists like Alfred Apaka,

Hilo Hattie Hilo Hattie (born Clarissa Haili, October 28, 1901 – December 12, 1979) was a Hawaiian singer, hula dancer, actress and comedian of Native Hawaiian ancestry. Early life and career Hattie was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She loved to dance the hu ...

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. Life and career Ho was a singer of Native ...

and

Sandii Sandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese synthpop band that collaborated from 1979 until the #1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography. However, their collaboration provi ...

. He has played music at a church in

Kapolei Kapolei () is a planned community in Honolulu County, Hawaiʻi, United States, on the island of Oʻahu. It is colloquially known as the "second city" of Oʻahu, in relation to Honolulu. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau ...

, Hawaii that was founded by Pastor

Danny Yamashiro Daniel Keauhou Matsu Yamashiro (born December 5, 1967), also known as D. K. M. Yamashiro, is an American clergyman, author, radio and podcast host, researcher, Christian media personality, and a chaplain at MIT who survived a fall from the ridg ...

and is the father of cosmopolitan and versatile saxophonist

Michael Paulo Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

Discography

*''Black Coral'', Liberty Records, 1959 *''Enchanted Garden'', Mahalo Records, 1960 *''Rene Paulo Plays in Person '', Mahalo Records, 1962 *''Tropical Heat Wave'', 1963 *''Whispering Sands'', 1964 *''The Best of Rene Paulo'', 1995 *''The Best of Rene & Akemi Paulo'', 1996 *''Surftides'', 2002 *''Waimanalo Moon'', 2003

References

American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists Living people 1930 births People with acquired American citizenship People from Wahiawa, Hawaii American musicians of Filipino descent 20th-century American pianists 21st-century classical pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American pianists {{US-classical-pianist-stub