JEFF AND CHAUNTÉ KASHIWA

During a performance on Catalina Island with The Rippingtons, Jeff Kashiwa said to the keyboard player, “ There she is! ” He said, ‘ Who? ’ I said, ‘ My wife! ’”

— Jeff Kashiwa

Jeff and Chaunté found each other at the Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival on Oct. 8, 1989, when Jeff was a saxophonist for The Rippingtons. Chaunté had saved to purchase tickets to the concert. She sat in the third row from the stage. When they saw each other, they felt an immediate chemistry.

There was just one problem. Chaunté was in the final stages of a divorce.

“The last thing I wanted to do was meet a man,” Chaunté said. “How we met was so magical. But I thought my man-picker was broken.”

Jeff, however, was enthusiastic and confident about life. He’d just scored a regular gig with The Rippingtons, and 1989 was turning out to be a wonderful year. He was approaching the age of 30 and hoping to find a life partner. When he walked across the stage and saw Chaunté, it was “just like in the movies.”

“It was really electric,” he said excitedly.

“During a rocking tune, it was the ‘Dream of the Sirens,’ I went over to Mark Portmann, the keyboard player for The Rippingtons, and said, ‘There she is!’ He said, ‘Who?’ I said, ‘My wife!’ He started laughing. I made a beeline towards her, right after we played. I asked her if she wanted to hang out, and she didn’t blow me off, but she said, ‘No. I can’t. I’m here to see Acoustic Alchemy.’”

Jeff was undaunted. After the show, he and the road manager met Chaunté and her friend at Luau Larry’s, a popular island bar.

“The four of us went out, and we had so much fun, just talking about life and funny movies. It’s really true, we had a fascinating conversation that night that has never ended. We talked about everything. There was a lot of joking around. It was very romantic.” to see the world together and to go from city to city. We take our son as well when he’s not in school. It has been great to grow together that way and to go forward musically together.”

Adam Hawley is scheduled to perform at the AZ Fest in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 25 (https://azjazzfest.com/); and the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest in Reading, Pennsylvania, March 30-April 1 (www.berksjazzfest.com). For more information on Hawley, including his complete tour schedule, visit https://adamhawley.com.

Chaunté found it strange that she and Jeff connected so quickly.

“We both have a dry wit,” she said. “We were playing volleyball with our intellect and our humor. I didn’t discount it … but I didn’t believe it.”

Before she met Jeff, Chaunté made a “yes versus no” list and wrote down all the qualities she hoped to find in a partner and all the traits she found objectionable.

“When I realized Jeff was all of the yeses and none of the noes, it really terrified me,” Chaunté said.

Jeff, however, was determined to win her trust.

“On our first date, I was so nervous,” he admitted. “We had a gig in San Diego, and I remember distinctly, Kirk Whalum opened for The Rippingtons. To this day, I’m a huge fan of Kirk Whalum, and he had very kind things to say about me onstage. I was very flattered. He was the ultimate wingman. After that gig, Chaunté and I went to Coronado Island. We walked around––it’s a beautiful place. We had a great time.”

The couple decided to move in together. Jeff wanted to wait until he released a successful solo album before making an official commitment. But after three years, Chaunté got tired of being “the girlfriend.”

“I said to him one day, ‘If you are waiting for the album to make you financially able to do it, that’s a fantasy. That could never happen. I guess I’m going to have to move out.’”

Chaunté left their home, heartbroken. She attended a ballet class and saw herself crying in the mirror as she danced.

“When I got home, Jeff said, ‘Will you marry me?’ It was kind of funny. It was very real and very honest.”

The couple married without fanfare in 1992 at a Santa Ana, California, courthouse on New Year’s Eve. As they sat in the hallway, waiting to be called into the courtroom, a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit and shackles passed by, escorted by an officer, and congratulated the couple.

On the following day, Chaunté wore a $40 dress, and the couple had a “formal” ceremony with family and friends. That evening, the group watched Jeff perform with his own group, The Coastal Access Band, at an Orange County, California, club called Mucho Gusto.

These days, Jeff stays busy as a recording artist, sideman and teacher. His 11th solo album, Sunrise, was released in 2021.

Throughout their years of marriage, Chaunté has remained Jeff’s “musical muse.”

“What I didn’t know when I met her is that she is a very good musician,” Jeff said. “She hasn’t performed music, but she hears things I can’t. She can pick out harmonies in a song and sing them. I struggle. I can sight read, but I like to call her an organic musician.”

“There is an intimacy that grows when sharing creativity,” Chaunté confided. “And I learned from Jeff and his family that there can be stability in love.”

In honor of the place they met, the couple named their daughter, now 19, Catalina.

Jeff Kashiwa is scheduled to perform at Spaghettini in Seal Beach, California, on Feb. 25 (https://spaghettini.com/); and the Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest in Reading, Pennsylvania, on March 26 with Acoustic Alchemy (www.berksjazzfest.com). For more information on Kashiwa, including his complete tour schedule, visit https://jeffkashiwa.com.