2008年06月19日
O KE AUMOE - NIGHT OF THE HAWAIIAN SLACK KEY GUITAR / george kuo
Musicians
George Kuo [slack key guitar, vocals]
George Kuo was born in 1955, but his beautiful slack key guitar style dates back a generation or two earlier. He is known as one of Hawaii's premiere Hawaiian slack key guitar artists playing the traditional "nahenahe" [sweet, soothing] style, bridging today's generation with the older generations: "I feel a lot of appreciation for the old style of slack key and the lifestyle of my grandparents, granduncles, grandaunts and all the older players. There is a special aloha for them that I try to convey in my style of slack key. [...] My feeling is in the older way of playing from the 1940s", George explains. "I like to play a nice relaxed, easy style. It is more delivering a message than playing runs. Not too much fancy stuff, keep it within the melody. Simplicity is really my style."
George Kuo learned to play slack key guitar from Antone Gabriel, whose style is influenced by the music of his granduncle Albert Kawelo, the teacher of the slack key legend Ray Kane who died on February 27, 2008. Ray Kane's style was distinctive and deceptively simple. He played in a number of ki ho'alu tunings always plucking or brushing the strings with only the thumb and index finger of his right hand. He also played hammer-ons and pull-offs in a unique way, his finger moving up and out, instead of down and in, after striking a string. Ray Kane emphasized that one must play and sing "from the heart". He never played flashy or fast. In Hawaiian, Ray Kane's sound is described as "nahenahe". George Kuo plays his slack key guitar and sings in the spirit of Ray Kane, but George Kuo pursues the old tradition with the knowledge that tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.
The renaissance of traditional culture was in full bloom in Hawaii in the 1970s and enriched the young George Kuo who was already attracted to oldstyle ki ho'alu. George Kuo learned from legendary slack key figures such as Ray Kane, Aunty Alice Namakelua, Tommy Solomon, Sonny Chillingworth, Atta Isaacs, Gabby Pahinui, Uncle Fred Punahoa, and Papa Kauhi. "That was a real rare opportunity to be with those old masters. The expressions and the feelings that they get when they play, you can see it on their faces. They smile 'cause they feel the vibration, the "ona" [feeling of well-being]. It goes throughout their body and moves their spirit. To me that's what the enjoyment is about right there. If I ever run into an old timer who tells me he plays slack key, I always encourage him because once they go, "pau" [the end], you can't hear that anymore."
Through high school and college, George continued playing the clubs and studying with the masters. He acquired a large repertoire of standards and originals, to which he continues to add today. In 1979 he won a slack key guitar contest at the Waikiki Shell, which brought him to the attention of a wider audience and launched his performing career. In 1981 he released his first album, "Nahenahe", on the Hula label. He also formed the group "Kipapa Rush Band" with a number of friends, including Wayne Reis, a nephew of Atta Isaacs.
In 1986 the nearly sixty years old ukulele virtuoso, singer and composer Eddie Kamae asked George Kuo to join his group "The Sons of Hawaii". George Kuo considers this a great honor and feels a special kinship with the other members. He also enjoys Eddie's style as a band leader. "He's not one to tell anybody what to do in the group, he just says, 'let's go and play and have fun', and we go. It's not a rehearsed thing. We communicate it through playing."
2006 the German music producer Stefan Winter came to Honolulu to record the musical travelogue »Hawai'i, Under The Rainbow« [Winter&Winter 910 115-2] featuring George Kuo. After the release of that album in 2007 the culture organisation Musiques de Nuit under the direction of Patrick Duval invited George Kuo to Bordeaux in France. In a wonderful mansion near Bordeaux with great acoustics, George Kuo and Stefan Winter found the perfect place to record the solo album »O Ke Aumoe — Night of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar« [Winter&Winter 910 142-2]. This solo album presents George Kuo's performance without any overdubs, without any special studio equipment, just using two microphones to record George Kuo's music in the most natural way.
"It's a very personal kind of art that displays a lot of the person's feelings. The nicest time for slack key is "aumoe" [late at night]; everything is quiet and calm and the spirit of slack key is coming out. You can hear the spirit of all the ancestors." George Kuo presents on »O Ke Aumoe — Night of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar« wonderful relaxing sounds and songs from Hawaii, the island with the most beautiful rainbows.
Through high school and college, George continued playing the clubs and studying with the masters. He acquired a large repertoire of standards and originals, to which he continues to add today. In 1979 he won a slack key guitar contest at the Waikiki Shell, which brought him to the attention of a wider audience and launched his performing career. In 1981 he released his first album, "Nahenahe", on the Hula label. He also formed the group "Kipapa Rush Band" with a number of friends, including Wayne Reis, a nephew of Atta Isaacs.
In 1986 the nearly sixty years old ukulele virtuoso, singer and composer Eddie Kamae asked George Kuo to join his group "The Sons of Hawaii". George Kuo considers this a great honor and feels a special kinship with the other members. He also enjoys Eddie's style as a band leader. "He's not one to tell anybody what to do in the group, he just says, 'let's go and play and have fun', and we go. It's not a rehearsed thing. We communicate it through playing."
2006 the German music producer Stefan Winter came to Honolulu to record the musical travelogue »Hawai'i, Under The Rainbow« [Winter&Winter 910 115-2] featuring George Kuo. After the release of that album in 2007 the culture organisation Musiques de Nuit under the direction of Patrick Duval invited George Kuo to Bordeaux in France. In a wonderful mansion near Bordeaux with great acoustics, George Kuo and Stefan Winter found the perfect place to record the solo album »O Ke Aumoe — Night of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar« [Winter&Winter 910 142-2]. This solo album presents George Kuo's performance without any overdubs, without any special studio equipment, just using two microphones to record George Kuo's music in the most natural way.
"It's a very personal kind of art that displays a lot of the person's feelings. The nicest time for slack key is "aumoe" [late at night]; everything is quiet and calm and the spirit of slack key is coming out. You can hear the spirit of all the ancestors." George Kuo presents on »O Ke Aumoe — Night of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar« wonderful relaxing sounds and songs from Hawaii, the island with the most beautiful rainbows.
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