In the mid-1960s, across the Western world, sophisticated parties were more likely to play Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass than rock and roll. Adults felt hip with Alpert’s trademark mix of jazz, swing and pop with a heavy dose of Mexican/Mariachi seasoning.
As singles like ‘The Lonely Bull’ and ‘A Taste Of Honey’ became MOR standards and albums such as Whipped Cream sold millions, it made perfect sense for Christchurch-based dance band musician Nick Nicholson to emulate the idea. He arranged Māori popular standards such as ‘Haere Mai’ and ‘Po Atarau’ in the Tijuana style, and called his band The Neketini Brass.
Nick Nicholson - bass, trumpet
Neil Stringer - drums
Roger Whyte - piano
George Williams - percussion
Gerald Marston - trumpet
Bruce McKendry - trumpet
Tangi Williams - guitar
Basil Carroll - drums
The Neketini Brass played at the wedding of country singer John Hore.
From the late 1960s through to the early 1980s, The Neketini Brass' Haere Mai was used by Air New Zealand to welcome people onto their international flights.