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Hui Aloha kicks off
transcontinental tourHui CD debut blends old and new
By John Berger
Special to the Star-BulletinDAVID Kamakahi's debut as a professional musician came unexpectedly. He had been playing ukulele for about a year when his father, Hoku Award-winning Dennis Kamakahi, took him to Kauai for a slack-key festival and then called up him to sit in on a few songs.
"I really didn't know he was going to do that," David said. "He told me later that he'd been listening to me play for a couple of months and thought I was pretty good. It started out as a one-time thing and then we started playing more frequently."
That was several years ago. David is now 19, a Kamehameha Schools graduate and sophomore at Leeward Community College. He is also the "young guy" in Hui Aloha -- the new all-star quartet that is taking a traditional style of Hawaiian music into the new century.
The history of the group parallels David's evolution from being "just a listener" to professional status.
IN CONCERT
What: Hui Aloha, presented as part of the "Na Mele Hawai'i" Hawaiian music series
Dennis Kamakahi, George Kuo and Martin Pahinui had discovered they enjoyed jamming late into the night when they were all on the road together promoting the individual albums they'd recorded for George Winston's Dancing Cat record label. The creative interplay continued between tours and David began sitting in on ukulele.
In July 1998, Hui Aloha went public with a regular Sunday night gig at the Hawaiian Regent Hotel. Winston got a sample of the quartet's sound when Pahinui asked if the other three could join him on a track on his album. Winston liked what he heard.
The quartet's first album was released this week.
"Working with all these legends is really so much fun. That's where I'm learning all my styles from. I take all the slack-key guitar styles and try to use them on ukulele," David says, adding the transition isn't as difficult as it sounds and the major difference is the number of strings.
Hui Aloha opens a 13-city transcontinental tour Saturday at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The group also will be playing and signing autographs at Borders Ward Centre on Friday and Borders Waikele on Sunday.
"Dad always says 'school first,' and everybody else really wants me to keep music on the side, so they've scheduled the tours around my schedule. Now, I've taken a semester off and will go back next fall. You can't do that in high school."
David says he "was just a listener" for years but eventually decided that he wanted to play as well.
"I practice with my dad," he says, "George and Martin don't need to practice. We hardly ever practice (as a group) but I'm always playing to learn new things."
He adds that playing also helps him relax. "It's like my psychiatrist, my counselor, my stress relief. It's so much fun."
He describes himself as "a homebody," although he also likes going to the beach and "cruising with friends." When it comes to music, he listens "to everything," but plans to stay focused on traditional Hawaiian music."
Hui debut blends old and
new without a hitchBy John Berger
Special to the Star-BulletinSERIOUS slack-key fans undoubtedly bought Hui Aloha's self-titled debut album when it arrived as scheduled in local record stores this week. Anyone with a more casual interest should wait no longer. This is excellent.
Dennis Kamakahi, George Kuo and Martin Pahinui need no introduction. David Kamakahi has already proven himself by recording with his father and touring with the group.
Traditionalists will enjoy the sense of musical continuity extending back to the grassroots music of the Gabby Band and the Sons of Hawaii. The voices are familiar. So are most of the songs. The interplay between the instruments and the distinct voices of Kuo, Pahinui and Dennis Kamakahi, add to an ambience that is both classic and yet contemporary.
In short, the quartet is taking the traditions of grassroots Hawaiian music forward naturally.
Hawaiian albums are incomplete without thorough annotation, and Dancing Cat sets a very high standard in providing background information. The liner notes booklet completing "Hui Aloha" makes this a perfect introduction to the artists, the songs and the traditions of Hawaiian slack key.
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