|
January-February 2008
SLACK KEY FESTIVAL IN SO CAL
By Audrey Coleman
Jim Kimo West
Photo Jim Viets
On January 20, nine acclaimed slack key guitarists will grace
the stage of the Redondo Performing Arts Center in the first Southern
California Slack Key Guitar Festival. They include Cyril Pahinui,
Dennis Kamakahi, George Kahumoku, Ozzie Kotani, Makana, Jeff Peterson, Owana
Salazar, Steve Espaniola, and Jim “Kimo” West.
Slack key is the least known of the guitar traditions despite
the rich history, refined aesthetic, and continued vitality that should give it
equal status with flamenco, bluegrass, jazz and blues guitar. But recently
slack key has been attracting attention on the mainland, in part because of its
presence at the Grammy Awards. This year a compilation of live performances by
slack key guitar luminaries, Treasures of Slack Key Guitar (Daniel Ho Creations), is competing for a Grammy in the
Hawaiian Music Category. The 2006 and 2007 music awards went to similar
compilations.
Jim Kimo West is the only local boy
represented in the Festival. Recognized in 2006 as an “L.A. Treasure” by the
California Traditional Music Society and the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs
Department. The Canadian-born guitarist and composer resides in Van Nuys,
California and has several albums to his credit, the first titled Coconut Hat. In the mid-80s, he discovered slack key
during several extended visits to beautiful, unspoiled Hana, Maui. “I would
always listen to records by Gabby Pahinui and the Sons of Hawaii,” he said. “I
really gravitated towards slack key. I never had a teacher but I just picked it
up by ear.”
For over 40 years, the
slack key recordings of Gabby Pahinui that inspired Jim Kimo West have spurred
musicians – Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian -- to embrace this unique style of
playing the guitar. As we will see in the profiles below, the influence of
Gabby and his contemporaries pervades the playing of the musicians lined up for
Southern California Slack Key Festival.
But first, a few words on the origins of this 150-plus year
old musical tradition. For that, we must thank the cattle that Captain James
Vancouver brought to Hawaii in the 1820s as England’s gift to Hawaii’s King
Kamehameha I. The king had to import a contingent of Spanish vaqueros to
teach the Hawaiians how to manage the burgeoning herds, and many of these
Spanish cowboys brought their guitars along. Guitar music delighted the novice
Hawaiian cowboys whose instrumental tradition had been limited to drums and
rattles.
When the vaqueros returned home, some left behind
their guitars – but no instruction book. The paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys)
tinkered with the strings and listened to the sounds they could produce until
they came up with a way of tuning that differed markedly from the classical
Spanish tuning. In fact, it was an efficient tuning method that allowed the
player to play a chord on open strings. It was possible to pick a bass line
with the thumb while playing the melody primarily with the index and third
fingers. Ki ho ‘alu literally means to loosen or slacken the strings,
but the term is a bit misleading. While some strings are slackened as compared
with standard tuning, others are actually tightened, moved up a tone.
The basic concept of slack key gave rise to a host of
tunings, each with a different tonal coloration, often given folksy names. Thus
we have Taro Patch G, the Wahine tunings, the Moana Loa
tunings, and tunings identified with their creators such as Atta’s C Major
(originated by the late slack key virtuoso Atta Isaacs).
Amid the influx of cultural influences from abroad during the
19th century and into the 20th, slack key guitar stayed alive in the rural
areas, developing its nuances at family gatherings and on porches where
Hawaiians relaxed after work. Musicians created different types of
ornamentation such as the hammer-on, pull-off, and use of harmonics.
Improvisation became a significant element of the tradition, even when the
slack key guitarist was accompanying a vocalist. In the second half of the 20th
century, the practice of playing extended instrumental breaks between vocal verses,
known as pa’ani, added another stylistic trademark to slack key playing
and. But families guarded their special tunings with care, fearing exploitation
of their creativity either by ha’ole (foreign, including American) or
fellow Hawaiian musicians. Whereas the Hawaiian slide guitar gained
international renown early in the 20th century and influenced
country and western music on the mainland, slack key kept a low profile. alive.
Dennis Kamakahi
Photo Engene Lancette
In the 1940s, Gabby Pahinui brought kiho ‘alu out of
the shadows. His five landmark recordings astounded musicians across the
islands for the variety of tunings, delicate ornamentation, and sweetness of
tone in his playing, not to mention his soulful vocals. By the 1960s,
contemporaries Leonard Kwan and Sonny Chillingworth began to make their way to
Honolulu recording studios and contribute to the rebirth of interest in
homegrown Hawaiian culture that intensified in the 1970s. This ushered in an
era of slack key mastery that has passed from generation to generation with no
signs of abating. Today kiho’alu masters share tunings and techniques
with novices, glad to keep the tradition alive.
Returning to the roster of musicians playing in the Southern
California Slack Key Guitar Festival on January 20, we see it is no coincidence
that the last musician to perform on the program is Cyril Pahinui, the
son of Gabby Pahinui. His sound on the six or twelve string guitar is
unmistakable. First reaction: Is that really only one guitar? His
combination of picking and strumming creates such a full sound that it seems
the product of a pair of instruments. Not only the resonant tone, but also the
richness of the improvisation sets him apart from other players. Cyril grew up
listening to his father’s soulful kiho ‘alu playing during backyard jam
sessions at their home on Oahu’s windward side. As he reached his teens he
played in the Gabby Pahinui band and received direct pointers from his dad.
Cyril Pahinui
Photo Chelle Pahinui
Preceding Cyril Pahinui on the program is the Reverend
Dennis Kamakahi, a later member of another band
founded by Gabby Pahinui -- the Sons of Hawaii. Renowned for the emotionally
engaging melodies and lyrics he has composed for over 30 years, Dennis
Kamakahi’s playing beautifully demonstrates nahe nahe, the soft, soothing, legato style that is the hallmark of
slack key. Son of a trombonist in the Royal Hawaiian Band, he cites as
influences the informal musical gatherings that took place at his home as he
grew up, often attracting Gabby and other slack key masters.Pua’ena (Glow Brightly) is one of his many CD releases and this writer’s favorite.
Also appearing in the latter part of the show is George
Kahumoku, who began playing professionally at the age of 13 with legendary
singer/songwriter Kui Lee. Like Cyril Pahinui, he plays six and twelve steel
string guitar, and gets a full, resonant sound as he weaves improvisational
elements through the songs and instrumentals he performs. Some of his most
moving recordings feature Christian hymns the Hawaiians learned from
missionaries in the 19th century. Host of the Masters of Hawaiian
Slack Key concert series held at the Napilili Kai Beach Hotel on Maui every
week, he also co-produced the 2007 Grammy-winning CD Legends of Hawaiian
Slack Key Guitar – Live from Maui.
Cyril Pahinui
Photo Chelle Pahinui
Slack key master Ozzie Kotani is
best known for his CD release To Honor A Queen (Dancing Cat) an exquisite collection of
slack key instrumental arrangements based on songs by Lili’uokalani, Hawaii’s
last monarch (1838-1917). The album not only presents the serene artistry of
the prolific composer, but also showcases Ozzie Kotani’s nuanced slack key
style. In the album, he always improvises in a style appropriate to the meaning
of the song, be it romantic, uplifting, nostalgic, or wistful. Playing on nylon
strings, his sound is markedly different from the fullness of Cyril Pahinui and
George Kahumoku on steel strings. He credits slack key innovator Keola Beamer for
inspiring him to take up the art. Son of legendary Hawaiiana and hula educator
Nona Beamer and grandson of prolific song composer Helen Deshe Beamer, Keola
Beamer focuses more on composition and mood painting than on improvisation in
his slack key playing.
Owana Salazar is the only female slack key artist
included in the Festival and the only one to be included in the
Grammy-nominated Treasures compilation CD. She took up kiho
‘alu at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Dennis Kamakahi, George Kahumoku,
Jr., Cyril Pahinui, George Kuo, Bla Pahinui, and the late Sonny Chillingworth
helped to shape her slack key technique. Jazz and pop music have also
influenced her. Her latest CD release, Hula Jazz (2004), shows that
slack key is one among many colors on her musical palette.The final three guitarists to be mentioned represent the
youngest generation to master ki’ho alu, but
they retain a connection to older masters. Makana was a protégé of the late Sonny Chillingworth. “Uncle
Sonny,” steeped in the country tunings of his aunts and uncles as well as the paniolo
(Hawaiian cowboy) culture on the Big Island,
played with Gabby’s band and dazzled fellow musicians with his pristine
technique and memorable compositions. Makana’s playing can vary from highly
energetic, ornamented arrangements to gentle, spare playing reminiscent of
Sonny, but there is always an underlying emotional intensity. The tone matches
the sweet vulnerability of his vocals, well represented in his CD Kiho
‘Alu: Journey of Hawaiian Slack Key (Makana
Music)
Jeff Peterson also has a paniolo connection. He
grew up on the ranchland on the lower slopes of Haleakala. His slack key
sound is deceptively simple, restrained in its use of ornamentation. Like his
contemporary, Makana, he composes songs in addition to interpreting slack key
standards. He has absorbed a variety of guitar techniques from different
traditions and his use of tremolo in Hi’ilawe is one of the highlights of his
2006 release The Artistry of Jeff Peterson (Palm Records).
Steve Espaniola is a multi-faceted musician who plays ki
ho'alu as well as ukulele and upright bass. Of Hawaiian, Filipino and
Spanish decent, he grew up in Aliamanu, Hawaii and now resides in the
California Bay Area. He titled his debut album Ho’omaka, which means, “to
begin” (Common Ground International).
The Festival’s multi-generational roster of nine slack key
players is a remarkable opportunity to experience different facets of this
musical tradition. During a program lasting from 3 pm to between 6:00 and 7:00
p.m., ticket holders will also be able to visit Hawaiian food and craft booths
in the lobby. Concert organizer Mitch Chang says ticket sales have been brisk with
patrons coming from as far as the East Coast. He anticipates making the
Southern California Slack Key Festival an annual event.
(Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center is located at 1935
Manhattan Beach Blvd. For ticket information, go to their website or to www.socalslackkeyfest.com).
Audrey Coleman is a journalist, educator, and passionate
explorer of world music and culture.
|
