Tropical trio Tropical trio (January 13, 2006)

Three Hawaiian musicians blend traditional, modern styles at Stanford concert

by Cyrus Hedayati

When Daniel Ho, formerly of the Hawaiian jazz group Kilauea, founded his own record label in 1997 called Daniel Ho Creations, he decided to collaborate only with friends.

Luckily for fans of Hawaiian music, he became friends with Herb Ohtah Jr. and Keoki Kahumoku, masters of ukulele and Hawaiian slack key guitar, respectively. Since then, they've appeared together in various combinations on several albums via Daniel Ho Creations, from classic ukulele instrumentals to progressive slack key guitar jams to traditional Hawaiian hymns.

The three musicians will bring that creative spirit with them on a two-week California tour that will stop in at Stanford University's Campbell Recital Hall this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The concert is named "Hana Hou!", ("encore" in Hawaiian) after the album of the same name by Ohta and Kahumoku, which Ho produced and played on.

All three musicians, native to Hawaii, were raised on music and have dedicated their lives to exploring its possibilities. Kahumoku, who has already won a Grammy for playing on another slack key guitar compilation, learned from his famous father, George Kahumoku Jr., who has recorded several albums with Ho as well.

Ohta's father, the legendary Ohta San, sold 6 million copies of his ukulele tune "Song for Anna" and taught his son the instrument.

Ho does not have a famous songwriter father, but his mother nudged him toward music when he was 3 and played him "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on a toy piano.

Ho hasn't looked back since, studying organ, ukulele, guitar, piano, bass, drums, and voice in grade and intermediate school, and developing a deep interest in Hawaiian slack key guitar.

Slack key guitar, also known as ki ho'alu, refers not to one type of instrument, but to the tuning and style of play. The instrument, often an acoustic guitar, is tuned in a unique style, with a lower pitch.

After studying the style for several years, Ho developed his own tuning, which he called G Kilauea and uses to this day. Named after the last active volcano on the Big Island (a name Ho also used for his jazz group), G Kilauea takes the standard ki ho'alu tuning and drops the bottom three strings down a step for more bass.

Recently, Ho has been using G Kilauea in a new context: a six-string ukulele, which he'll use at the upcoming concert. This will be combined with Ohta's traditional, four-string ukulele and Kahumoku's acoustic guitar.

In addition, Ho plans to sing some songs off his "Simple as a Sunrise" album, featuring acoustic beach-pop of the Jack Johnson variety; and traditional Hawaiian vocal songs featuring Kahumoku's smooth croon.

Steve Sano, Stanford's director of choral studies and the organizer of the concert, said he is looking forward to a broad range of musical styles, and particularly praised Ho's "unique" and "modern" style of blending slack key guitar tunings with smooth jazz influences.

Sano, who also teaches ki ho'alu at Stanford, befriended Ho in 2000 and has since released three albums featuring the instrument on Daniel Ho Creations.

"Hopefully we can convince Steve to join us on stage for a few songs," said Ho.

Deeply committed to their state's culture and ancestry, Ho, Ohta and Kahumoku hope that their music, and this tour, will help encourage appreciation of Hawaii.

"Hawaiian music, perhaps in the past, has been seen as sort of cheeky, touristy, but there's a lot of beauty in the Hawaiian repertoire," said Ho.

Growing awareness of Hawaiian music has made it easier for Ho to promote his label and his friends in California, he said. It also helps that the music is uncommon here.

"In Hawaii, a slack key guitar player is just a musician," he said. "Here, it's more respected."

What: "Hana Hou!" a concert of Hawaiian music by Herb Ohta Jr., Keoki Kahumoku and Daniel Ho.

Where: Campbell Recital Hall, Stanford University

When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15.

Cost: Tickets are $20 general and $10 for students. Seniors and members of the department's Friends of Music get $1 off the general admission price.

Info: Call (650) 725-ARTS or go to music.stanford.edu.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]