Gabby and slack key

This has been a great summer for Hawaiian music, as Alan Akaka kicked things off with the Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival July 4 at the Waikiki Beach Plaza, Roy Sakuma presented the 40th Annual Ukulele Festival July 18 in Kapiolani Park and Cyril Pahinui celebrated the musical legacy of his father, Gabby Pahinui, last weekend in Waimanalo.

The next big event is this weekend as Milton Lau hosts the 28th Annual Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival Sunday afternoon at Kapiolani Park Bandstand.

(pics)

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Times change. Magic moments become treasured memories. Cyril Pahinui is looking forward to bringing some of the magic back -- if only for a day -- with the Third Annual Gabby Pahinui Waimanalo Kanikapila tomorrow at Waimanalo Beach Park. The music will go on throughout the day, with more than 100 musicians playing in honor of Gabby, Cyril's father.

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My friend from college days at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, Bob Moore, says being at a Gabby-fest in Waimanalo, when music-lovers and hangers-on would head out to watch the best of the best in Hawaiian slack-key guitar play music in a back yard close to the beach, is his best memory ever -- better than being at Woodstock.

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'Ki Ho'alu: Slack Key the Hawaiian Way'

Various artists
(Hawaiian Legacy Foundation)

This 1993 documentary film about slack key music and musicians on DVD provides fans and students of ki ho'alu a valuable source of information on that important genre -- and the opportunity to watch several slack key masters play as well.

Film producers Eddie and Myrna Kamae introduce ki ho'alu with a look at the things that make it uniquely Hawaiian. They continue with sections on slack key tunings, playing styles, the history and evolution of slack key and the gradual shift from traditional to modern teaching techniques. One section focuses on Niihau and guitarist Malaki Kanahele; another, on Big Island legend Fred Punahoa.

Ledward Kaapana is featured in several clips -- he plays in some and shares family history in others. George Kuo demonstrates the distinct difference in the sound of guitars played with standard and slack key tunings, Manu Kahaialii speaks at length on the spiritual aspects of the genre, and Raymond Kane retells the classic tale of how he discovered slack key while living in Nanakuli. Vintage clips of Gabby Pahinui, Alice Namakelua and the Sons of Hawai'i are some of the other highlights.