Drenched by Music By George Kahumoku Jr. (Dancing Cat) Kika Kila Meets Ko Ho‘alu By Bob Brozman and Ledward Ka 'apana (Dancing Cat) Mana By James "Bla" Pahinui (Dancing Cat) Mauna Kea -- White Mountain Journal By Keolu Beamer (Dancing Cat)
THE commitment to excellence continues as George Winston continues his landmark Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Masters series with the simultaneous release of albums by Keola Beamer, Ledward Ka'apana and steel guitarist Bob Brozman, George Kahumoku Jr., and James "Bla" Pahinui.
Even unopened, these albums provide casual record store browsers with a sense of what slack key is and why these artists are significant. Each disc contains a booklet of annotation that provides biographical information on the artist, an overview of each selection, and a discography. The details provided help demystify the myriad tunings and techniques of slack-key as well.
For instance, the formidable Bla plays left-handed with his guitar strung "upside down and backward" and favors a "dropped D tuning" that he also plays in an unconventional way. With those facts in hand, anyone hearing slack-key for the first time will be able to appreciate the recordings as more than just "beautiful music" by some Hawaiian guy.
Knowing that Bla grew up playing local Latin and rock 'n' roll, and that he still loves the classic African-American R&B hits of the '50s puts the aptly titled " '50s Medley" in proper context as well. Never met him? Now you've got a sense of where he's coming from musically.
Detailed annotation likewise allows nonplayers to appreciate the understated virtuosity Kahumoku displays in interpreting island classics, and the spiritual perspective he brings to his music. A brilliantly executed 12-minute rendition of "Kaulana Na Pua" on "Drenched by Music" is certainly one of the highlights. In it, Kahumoku honors both composer Ellen Prendergast and the Monarchy she loved. (The song was written to protest the criminal overthrow of Lili'uokalani and the tainted annexation of Hawai'i by the United States.)
Winston adds another facet to the series with "Kika Kila," the second collection of slack-key and acoustic steel guitar duets. The first paired Barney Isaacs and George Kuo. This collaboration between Led Kaapana and New Yorker Bob Brozman could easily launch a subseries of albums pairing island-born masters like Kaapana with musicians like Brozman who weren't born here but who are masters in their own right. Brozman's credentials are impeccable and this partnership with the inimitable Led is delightful throughout. Hana hou!
Beamer's album is his third in the series. About half the selections are originals, another is from his mother, Nona Beamer; all reflect his experiences growing up on the Big Island. Anyone who knows him as even casually will immediately "hear" his voice when reading the notes that explain the personal significance of the songs.
Producer Winston's concise account of Beamer's technical approach on each song allows even first-time listeners to grasp the rich diversity of styles and sounds within this instrumental genre.