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Slack Key Artists nominated for third
Grammy Award
-by Louise Rockett
,
Lahaina News,
December 27, 2007 |
NAPILI – Nominations for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards were recently
announced by the Recording Industry Association of America.
For the third year in a row, The Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key
Guitar Concert Series is listed in the top five of the Best Hawaiian
Music album category; this year for their CD, “Treasures.”
In 2005 and 2006, “The Masters” went on to earn number one honors in
their division for “Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 1”
and “Legends,” respectively, bringing home the golden Grammy to West
Maui two years in a row.
Recipients of the recording industry’s 2007 awards will be announced
at lavish ceremonies held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center on
Feb. 10.
The Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Series is a weekly concert
now held on Wednesday nights at the Napili Kai Beach Club.
The series spotlights the artistry of many of Hawaii’s most renowned
musicians on a rotating basis, mostly kiho’alu masters, including
the show’s musical host, George Kahumoku Jr.
The cuts on all three discs were selections from the weekly live
performances.
CD co-producers are Wayne Wong, Paul Konwiser, George Kahumoku Jr.
and Daniel Ho.
The Lahaina News asked them about their wining formula.
The show host attributed it to a blend of finely-tuned talent.
“Our first CD had only six headliner artists – Ledward Kaapana,
Cyril Pahinui, Ozzie Kotani, Daniel Ho, Keoki Kahumoku, and me plus
Da Ukulele Boyz (Peter deAquino and Garrett Probst),” co-producer
Kahumoku noted.
“On ’Legends,’ we added more, including Dennis Kamakahi, Martin
Pahinui, Bobby Ingano (steel) and Richard Ho’opi’i (falsetto).”
With “Treasures,” according to Kahumoku, a female vocalist joined
the mix: “Owana Salazar, one of the few wahine slack key guitarists,
and she plays lap steel accompanying her beautiful voice.”
Or, perhaps it’s Kahumoku’s tradition of adding a dash of young
talent to the colorful palette of musical artists that livens up the
releases.
Uncle George, an art teacher at Lahainaluna High School by day,
included a new “next generation” artist on the “Treasures” disc
profile.
Sterling Seaton “plays every week and runs our sound with Peter
deAquino. He is a graduate from Lahainaluna High School and used to
hang around my classroom with his guitar.”
Wong is proud of the accomplishments and credits his native roots as
the source of his inspiration.
“The show has added a fulfillment to a need that I’ve had for a long
time to give back to my Hawaiian heritage. It has been such a joy to
grow a seed of an idea (a consistent showplace for Hawaiian Slack
Key Guitar) right here on Maui. It is a joy to watch the
acknowledgment and worldwide recognition of our unique acoustic
guitar tradition,” Wong said.
“’Treasures of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar’ is the third in our series
of CDs,” Wong continued, “and represents the best performances of
our 2006-2007 concert series. It is the best CD that we’ve put out
yet. We’ve vastly improved the quality of the sound engineering,
working hard to bring back the warmness of the guitar and vocals and
leaving in more of the audience responses in order to recapture the
’live performance’ atmosphere on CD.”
Ho agreed with Wong’s assessment about the disc quality.
The CD was “mixed and mastered” by Daniel Ho Creations in L.A.,
“using vintage equalizers and compressors in 24-bit (higher than CD
quality resolution), to bring out the detail and essence of the
acoustic sound.”
“We were fortunate to have hundreds of recordings to choose from. We
picked the 12 best – recordings that featured the live energy of
these performers at their best,” he said.
Co-producer Konwiser acknowledges the common thread that binds them
together: Their heartfelt love for kiho’alu and the Hawaiian
culture.
“Ka pu’uwai ame ka’uhane me ke na manamana lima (The heart and the
soul through the fingers),” Wong added.
Copyright © 2007 Lahaina News and Louise Rockett.
All rights reserved.
Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Concert Series
at The Napili Kai Beach Resort, Napili on Maui:
Weekly shows every Wednesday evening.
Showtime at 7:30pm
Tollfree Reservations: (888) 669-3858,
or info on the web at:
http://www.slackkey.com
Seating is limited so reservations are highly recommended. Tickets are
priced at $45 before taxes.
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