Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar | Kaneohe, HI
Led Kaapana’s mastery of stringed instruments, particularly slack key guitar, and his extraordinary baritone andleo kiekie (falsetto) voices, have made him a musical legend. He has been thrilling audiences for more than 40 years. With easy-going style and kolohe (rascal) charm, he has built a loyal corps of Led Heads from Brussels to his birthplace on the Big Island of Hawaii. Recognition by his peers earned Led four Grammy nominations and two wins on slack key compilations.
Like many Hawaiians, Led grew up in a musical family. In the tiny black sand bay village of HYPERLINK “http://wwwhvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/1990Kalapana/” Kalapana, there were few distractions. “We didn’t have electricity, no television, not even much radio,” says Led. “So we entertained ourselves. You could go to any house and everybody was playing music.”
It was at these family gatherings that Led learned to play in the old style, watching, listening, then imitating. Chief among his teachers were his mother, Mama Tina Kaapana, and his uncle Fred Punahoa. “Even today when I play, I still picture all the `ohana (family) getting together and sharing their songs and their aloha.”
Although isolated, outside influences did creep into Kalapana. Like most kids his age, Led loved to rock and roll and also listened to country, jazz, and Latin music. When he’d sneak a riff from a guitar hit of the day, like Pipeline or Walk Don’t Run, into his music his dad would tease, “Hey, that’s not slack key!” But nobody ever stopped him, they just encouraged him to “play what you feel and play with aloha.”
As teenagers, Led and his twin brother Ned and cousin Dennis Pavao formed the Hui Ohana, one of the hottest groups of the 70s and 80s and now legendary among Hawaiian musicians. The 70s saw the blossoming of the Hawaiian Renaissance, and Hui Ohana was a key part of that return to traditional Hawaiian culture and music. Young Hawaii Plays Old Hawaii, the title of their first recording, was also their statement of purpose.
The group produced 14 best-selling albums and made hundreds of live appearances, proudly sharing Kalapana’s musical traditions. Led later formed another trio, Ikona, releasing six albums with that group, including Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner, Jus’ Press. He has also released a number of solo albums, including two Na Hoku Hanohano Instrumental Album of the Year winners, Lima Wela, and Black Sand. Ki Ho`alu, Hawaiian Slack Key, Grandmaster Slack Key and Force of Nature (with Mike Kaawa) received Grammy nominations.
Led tours the US extensively and has also appeared in Belgium, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia, and Tahiti.