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Gregg Porter's Music Reviews
Northwest Hawai'i Times
March 2006
Hawaiian Grammy
Fans of slack key guitar are celebrating their second Grammy Award win for “Hawaiian Album of the Year” in as many years. This year’s recipient is the compilation disc Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume 1, on the Daniel Ho Creations label. While the album features live recordings by Ledward Ka`apana, George Kahumoku, Jr., Cyril Pahinui, Ozzie Kotani, Keoki Kahumoku, Daniel Ho, and “Da `Ukulele Boys” (Peter DeAquino and Garrett Probst), the actual award is given to the CD’s producers (Daniel Ho, Wayne Wong & Paul Konwiser), as per Grammy rules for compilations.
The recordings all come from a live concert series, held weekly at the Ritz Carlton, Kapalua, Maui, since October of 2003. (In fact, Pahinui and Konwiser were unable to attend the Grammy celebration in Los Angeles on February 8, because they were handling that evening’s concert.) Producers Ho and Wong were on hand to receive their statuettes at a pre-telecast ceremony held that afternoon. News of the win reached various sources, including Hawaiian newspaper websites, before 1:00 Pacific Time that Wednesday afternoon. Also present at the Staples Center to join the producers on stage were both Kahumokus (father and son), and DeAquino & Probst; Ka`apana was talking with someone when the winner was announced, but met up with everyone else backstage for photos immediately following.
Ka`apana was also a nominee for his own solo album, as were Sonny Lim (who participated in last year’s Grammy winning release, Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2 on Palm Records), Kapono Beamer and Raiatea Helm, who were all attending the ceremony. Four out of the five nominees had “slack key” in the title, which, following on the heels of last year’s winner, fuels additional speculation as to how strong the effect of Mainland voters on the Hawaiian Album category continues to be. There are approximately 17,000 eligible voters in NARAS/The Recording Academy (including this writer), but only about 100 of them hail from Hawai`i. The Hawaiian Album is considered part of the Folk field, so members who wanted to vote in that field could also vote on releases in the Traditional Folk, Contemporary Folk, and Native American Album categories. Mainland voters who know of Hawaiian music at all are more likely to be familiar with ki ho`alu than Hawaiian-language songs.
Hawai`i Academy of Recording Arts President Alan Yamamoto (who is also an officer in the Pacific Northwest Chapter of NARAS) thinks that last year’s win did generate additional interest in the genre, but doesn’t think slack key guitar music will dominate Grammy wins that much in the future. Originally, the winning album was not intended to be in existence at all, as the recordings were only made for archival purposes, so that George Kahumoku, Jr.’s brother-in-law (new-age pianist, Dancing Cat Records founder and slack key aficionado George Winston) could hear the Maui shows.
Producer Ho recently answered questions for Northwest Hawai`i Times:
Can you recall what your thoughts were when they announced that your CD was the Grammy winner, as well as when you learned of your nomination?
Disbelief. EXCITEMENT, then a deep sense of thankfulness. I was thrilled when I learned of the nomination. Considering Hawai`i released over 170 albums last year, we were all very surprised to be among the 5 nominees. The afternoon of February 8, 2006 , however, was THE most exciting day of my 17 years as a musician. We are a small, but growing, independent label that has been releasing slack key and ukulele music for 8 years. For our work to be recognized with this honor was beyond our wildest dreams!
In creating this CD, how did you decide which musicians would be featured, and what selections?
The CD is a compilation of the best performances taken from over 100 slack key shows at the Ritz Carlton. Over the course of several days, we went through every single recording and evaluated them based on performance, sound quality, noise, etc. There are so many factors to live recordings that are not issues in studio projects. It was quite a process. The artists selected were chosen by Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Productions (Paul Konwiser, Wayne Wong, George Kahumoku, Jr. and Nancy Kahumoku).
Ki ho`alu music has seen a resurgence in the past decade, particularly on the Mainland. What effect do you think this Grammy win, as well as last year's, will have on slack key?
I believe it will have a positive impact. George Winston and Dancing Cat Records have paved the "slack key" road for all of us. I'm aware of the controversy in Hawai`i involving the Grammy and slack key, but we're just doing what we love, and have been long before there was a Hawaiian category at the Grammys.
What's next for the label, and how soon are we likely to see the next volumes of this series?
Right now, I am finishing two CDs: Step 2 by Herb Ohta, Jr. and Daniel Ho, and Na Ano: the Seeds by George Kahumoku, Jr. We are all going out on tour the third week of March to support these CDs. Uncle George will be touring the West Coast with Dennis Kamakahi and Cyril Pahinui (including a Seattle stop at Town Hall on March 31), while Herb and I will be headed to Japan for 2-1/2 weeks. Herb Ohta, Jr. and I are writing an `ukulele instructional book that will be released in June. Keoki Kahumoku's CD, which we recorded while he was in California for the Grammys, will also be released in June. Gordon Mark's 2nd solo ukulele CD is slated for late summer, and the Legends of Slack Key Guitar - Live From Maui will be released in August or September. It will feature many of the artists on Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Volume 1 plus a few more special guests!
For more information about Wednesday night slack key concerts at the Ritz Carlton on Maui:
www.slackkey.com, (888) 669-3858
(Mahalo to Andy Wang and TaroPatch.net for contributions to this article.)
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Each week, the masters of the art of slack key guitar get together in concert on Maui to entertain audiences. This album captures a selection of performances by some of Hawaii's most famous musicians.
He's been called Hawai'i's Renaissance Man: GEORGE KAHUMOKU, JR., master slack key guitar player, songwriter, author, world-wide performer, high school teacher, former principal, sculptor, story-teller, and a farmer so in tune with his islands that he has won several state and national awards for his work with the land. George began playing music professionally at the age of 13 with the legendary singer/songwriter Kui Lee. George hosts The Masters Concert Series each week.
LEDWARD KAAPANA's hard work and his easy-going attitude have earned him a reputation as one of Hawai'i's most beloved traditional musicians. A master of ki ho'alu (slack key guitar), Led is a fine, emotional singer as well, in both baritone and leo ki'eki'e (falsetto). He blends his virtuosity with an infectious joy for performing, a generous spirit and a kolohe (rascally) sense of humor. This makes him not only a pleasure to hear, but also good fun to be around.
CYRIL PAHINUI, like most Hawaiian musicians, started playing early. For this he credits his father, the legendary Gabby Pahinui. In many ways, Cyril both maintains and expands slack key. He lovingly plays the standards and gratefully acknowledges his teachers. Yet Cyril also freely draws on a wide variety of music styles. His musical intelligence, great ear, killer chops and spirit of aloha make him one of Hawai'i's most respected and beloved performers.
OZZIE KOTANI is a respected teacher, arranger, composer and accompanist as well as a solo performer. He has played ki ho'alu, Hawaiian slack key guitar, for over 20 years, representing it on the Mainland, in Spain and Japan, as well as all around the Hawaiian Islands. Like the late slack key master Sonny Chillingworth, with whom he studied, he freely interjects his own personality into his playing, preserving and expanding the tradition.
DANIEL HO began his professional career in 1990 as the leader, keyboardist, producer and composer for the contemporary jazz group, Kilauea. By 1997, they had released six best-selling smooth jazz albums to rave reviews. Hawaii-born, in recent years Daniel has begun a return to his roots, recording several albums with George Kahumoku, Jr. In the year 2000, he and George won a Na Hoku Hano Hano award for their work on "Hymns of Hawaii."
KEOKI "LIKO" KAHUMOKU has been playing music professionally for many years, and is notable for his ukulele playing as well as his slack key guitar. He has recorded three albums, and also appears on several albums with his famous dad. Keoki's love for Hawai'i is evident. He continues to share his passion of Hawaiian music and his culture through his performance and his teachings here and abroad.
Bonus Track:
Peter de Aquino and Garrett Probst, "Da' Ukulele Boys"
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