Comprised of native Hawaiians, surfers and friends — all master musicians — Manaleo is committed to preserving the music, traditions and culture of old Hawaii.

Bolstered by growing interest on the mainland of all things Hawaiian, the Bay Area-based quintet is taking its musical message to the public through live concerts and a new recording.

Teaming up with Halau o’ Kawainuhi, a regional dance troupe schooled in the art of hula, Maneleo will present “Sights and Sounds of Aloha” at Copia at 8 p.m. Saturday.

The show is reminiscent of “Hawaii Calls,” an international radio show that began in the 1930s and was broadcast to millions of listeners all over the world, notes founder Jerry Gillgren, the group’s ukelele specialist.

“We want the audience to sit back and relax as we take them on a journey through the Hawaiian islands that paints a vivid picture in the mind’s eye of the beauty and diversity of each island,” he said of the show. “Our program takes you island to island exploring the music and dance of each island.”

While Manaleo did perform for one of the downtown Chefs Market events this past summer, Saturday’s show will be its first full-fledged performance featuring music, dance and special video effects staged in the wine country.

Not only that, Manaleo is already busy working on a large scale celebration of Hawaiian culture, the first Napa Valley Aloha Festival, slated for Napa Valley Expo on Sept. 20.

Mele makers

With a repertoire that, for the most part, features songs sung in Hawaiian, Manaleo was initially formed as a three-piece combo in 2004. Its newest member, bassist Keoki Cortez, looking around for a group specializing in Hawaiian music, was referred to Manaleo by a mutual friend. And Cortez’s journey to Manaleo is typical of all its members.

Born in Honolulu on the most populous island, Oahu, Cortez was raised on the north shore in Hau’ula. He’s traced his genealogy to “the aliis,” or native chiefs, living on Oahu prior to the reign of King Kamehameha I.

Raised in a large family, Cortez said he first performed in a bar in Kaneohe owned by the parents of noted Hawaiian singer/entertainer Don Ho. “I learned in a large family that I had to get on the stage quick or never be heard,” he quips today. His first professional gig, he recalls, came at the age of 12, and he counts among his important musical influences Gabby Pahinui, Uncle Joe Marshall and the  Kahauanu Lake Trio. His primary instrument is the acoustic bass. He is also a featured vocalist and, at times, is heard on the guitar.

While Gillgren lives in wine country, he also maintains a home in Pahoa, on the big island of Hawaii, where he goes to study, play and write music. Born and raised in Long Beach, Gillgren became a surfer at a young age. “I still ride the long boards,” he said the other day in discussing Manaleo’s upcoming event.

His parents realized their son had an affinity for music and encouraged him to play the piano at age three. At an early age, Gillgren developed a passion for the Hawaiian culture and its people and became committed to the study of traditional Hawaiian music and language. Throughout his musical career, he has performed in a variety of music styles as a multi-instrumentalist on both saxophone and keyboards with professional groups throughout California. Manaleo’s leader plays an eight-string Kamaka ukelele, keyboards, bass and sings both lead and falsetto vocals.

Providing the band’s signature Hawaiian sound on traditional steel guitar is Napa Valley’s Sean Allen. A graduate of Berklee School of Music in Boston, Allen is a master guitar player and teaches at the Napa School of Music. A professional musician, he was mesmerized by the soothing sound of the steel guitar and has been playing country and Hawaiian music, which is his current focus.

Born in San Francisco, Glenn Colburn was raised in the traditions of Hawaii by his Portuguese-Hawaiian parents. As a child, he was surrounded by the Hawaiian culture through family and friends and frequented local Hawaiian establishments in the Bay Area. He grew up in the Mission District and attended Polytechnic High. He launched his musical career as a percussionist and has performed with numerous Latin jazz groups in the region. Playing both ukelele and percussion with Manaleo, he currently lives in Napa with his family.

A little-known fact is that the Colburn name graces a street in Honolulu, as Glenn’s grandfather was a member of the staff of Queen Lilioukalani.

The combo’s remaining native Hawaiian is Earl Britos. Born and raised in Kaneohe, on the windward side of Oahu, Britos grew up on his birth island. He had a love for music early on through his mother, who was a devout Christian and sang for their local church. Britos learned to play ukulele and slack key guitar as a boy and performed in the islands with various musical groups. He graduated from Castle High School and went on to be a carpenter. Eventually, he moved to the mainland and lived with his wife and daughter in New Mexico where he recorded an album of Hawaiian music, playing a guitar made of ice in the snow near Taos, at 9,000 feet.

CD and show

Manaleo has a relatively new compact disc of traditional Hawaiian songs, including the legendary Gabby Pahinui ballad, “Moonlight Lady.” It will be available for purchase at the concert Saturday night and is available on the Web site, www.manaleo.com.

Band members promise to include a number of songs from the new CD in Saturday’s show, including “Moonlight Lady,” along with another Hawaiian favorite, “Ku’u Home O Kahalu’u,” a song made popular by a favorite Hawaiian group, Olomana.

Tickets for “Sights and Sounds of Aloha” are $25 and can be purchased by calling 259-1600 or logging online at www.copia.org.