Jon Yamasato set foot into the music scene at the tender age of 18 playing underground gigs at coffee shops, clubs and bars. Jon went on to form the band "Pure Heart" which won 5 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

He has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in Hawaiian Music including Dennis Kamakahi, Keali`i Reichel, ` Ale`a and Justin Young.

Jon grew up in Hawaii Kai and attended Kaiser High school. He started by playing weekends in coffee shops around town. He says of that time, "We played every opportunity we got, even if we were not invited."

He did that for about four years before recording the first Pure Heart album. From there it was pretty much history. He tells us the road was longer and harder than people may think  He says,

" There were a lot of disappointments along the way, and we really put everything into making the music tight. We would usually do about three to five gigs a week, twice at the coffee shop and anything we could grab on the weekends. Most of the gigs were done for free. If we did not have a gig on the weekend, then the guys would usually come to my parents' house and we would practice for a few hours, recording our practices on an old karaoke machine."

His Pure Heart album won a Hoku awards in five categories (Most Promising Artist, Group, Contemporary Album, Album of the Year, Entertainer of the Year).

Look for Jon Yamasato's Next Appearance on the Slack Key Show