MAORI ENTERTAINERS IN AUCKLAND by JOHN BERRY George Campbell, formerly with the Kiwi Concert Party, is at the top among bass players. In Auckland's plushiest night club, amid an atmosphere of candlelight and exotic foods, a young Maori began to finger the keys of a piano. Beside him, the bass player and guitarist joined in. Tourists, wealthy businessmen and sophisticated men-about-town looked up from their shrimp cocktails, their deep-fried chicken or their T-bone steaks as the three Maoris weaved fascinating patterns of sound. For this music, though subdued and shadowy in keeping with the surroundings, commanded attention. About a mile away, at the Maori Community Centre, young Maoris in jeans and bright shirts were plunking guitars, blowing saxophones and filling the hall with vibrant, happy song. Here there was talent, too. In cabarets and dance halls, on radio and record, Maoris are making an increasing impact on Auckland's musical life. There are raw amateurs with only enthusiasm and the Maori's natural sense of harmony to carry them through; there are good amateurs—mostly self-taught—who are nearing professional standard; and there are the professionals of world-class musicianship like Lew Campbell. With elder brother George and guitarist Mark Kahi, Lew Campbell has drawn lavish praise from critics and jazz enthusiasts throughout the country with his trio. Tourists visiting the Sapphire Room or the Hi Diddle Griddle have been quick to comment: “Right up to the standard of our groups in the States.” So precisely yet subtly does the trio play, in fact, that people who believe they do not like jazz are enthusiastic. George, a bass player, and Lew, pianist and trumpet player, were born in Paeroa. Their father, James Campbell, had been a bugler in World War I and their mother was a pianist. With an elder brother, Phil, the boys took to music as if they had crochets and quavers, instead of blood, in their veins. Lew was still a schoolboy when the three of them began making their name known in dance halls throughout the Bay of Plenty and the Waikato. The family moved to Auckland in 1938. While Lew studied music at Auckland University College, Phil and George were working their way to the top in the music world. George had engagements in Sydney, playing in the Sydney Septette's “Man About Town” show and broadcast-