Teresa Bright, a multitalented Native Hawaiian entertainer known for her sweet and sultry vocal style and innovative blending of Hawaiian, Japanese and Okinawan music, died Sept. 1 after a period of declining health. She was 64.
Teresa Naniali‘i Bright grew up in Heeia on Oahu’s windward side and graduated from Castle High School with hopes of a career in music. She was performing as one-half of a duo when she got her big break: Her partner didn’t show up for a job and Bright’s brother-in-law Steve Maii came to her rescue. Maii, 10 years older, brought with him the experience gained playing with George Helm, Henry Kapono, Keola and Kapono Beamer, and Melveen Leed, among others.
“I remember when we first started playing we just gelled because we’re both family,” Maii said. “I distinctly remember her telling me that she didn’t want to be famous as far as being ‘the star,’ like Melveen Leed. And I never wanted to be famous, I was always happy to be in the background.
I just wanted to play bass. But both of us evolved, with our music and our production, and she became really good at what she did. “She was a great player and truly a great artist and I was very honored sharing music with her.
” Billed as Steve &Teresa, they were an instant hit with island audiences. They recorded and released three albums, “Catching A Wave,” “Ocean Blue” and “Intimately,” and enjoyed local radio play success with their album title song, “Catching A Wave,” .