Makana: Pūlama - Legacies of Hawai'i
Friday, May 13, 2022 at 8pm
presented by Irvine Barclay Theatre

Series Sponsor:

The Hiland Foundation

Richard and Elizabeth Steele Fund                 

This performance will include one 15-minute intermission.

Makana: Slack Key Guitar, Vocals

Songs will be announced from the stage.

Please, no video or audio recording of any kind.
Artist will be available after the show to sign CDs.

“A dynamic force within the style [of slack key]…dazzling.”  – The New York Times

"He's lean, young, expressive, with impressive stage presence and jewel box precision… He is a master, blessed with sizzling showmanship."  – Honolulu Advertiser

Makana is a singer, composer, perpetuator of folk arts, and master of the Hawaiian slack key guitar tradition.The New York Times calls him "dazzling." His original music has been featured on three Grammy-nominated albums, including the soundtrack of the Academy Award-winning film, The Descendants. Guitar Player magazine ranked him as one of the top three guitarists in America, and the Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts recognized his contributions to the art with the Slack Key Legacy Award. Makana has supported many musical icons in concert, including Sting, Elvis Costello, Santana, and Joe Walsh of The Eagles, and he has performed at the White House and at opera houses from Europe to Asia.

Makana’s concert tonight focuses on the broad traditions of Hawaiian music, exploring the rich heritages of kī hō’alu (slack key guitar) and leo (voice) in the uniquely Hawaiian style. Drawing from legends of the Hawaiian music renaissance like George Helm, Gabby “Pops” Pahinui, Dennis Kamakahi, and The Sunday Mānoa, Makana invites us to immerse our spirits in the sound of “old Hawai’i” as he offers song and story in the nahenahe (sweet sounding) fashion of his kupuna (elders). Always honoring his kumu (teachers), like the late slack key master Sonny Chillingworth, Makana weaves a lei of songs celebrating both the past and emerging frontiers of slack key guitar. Makana will be performing selections from his brand new album Pūlama: Legacies of Hawai’i (released April 2022), a heartfelt homage to the genuine spirit and sound of Hawai’i. Songs chosen were inspired by Makana’s reverence for the “forgotten sounds” of a time past, including:

“Silver Strings Among the Gold,” an American classic from the 1800s arranged for slack key guitar by the late master Leonard Kwan;

“Ua Like No A Like,” a rarely heard late 1800s composition by Alice Everett, a contemporary of Queen Liliʻuokalani, which speaks to the gentle rain feeding the lehua blossom as an allegory for a loving relationship;

“Wahine ʻIlikea,” a beloved classic by the late Rev. Dennis Kamakahi inspired by the “white mists” settling atop the mountains of Molokaʻi; 

“Waikā,” a heartbreakingly beautiful love song taken from the old chant “Hole Waimea,” and a personal favorite of Makanaʻs late mother;

“E Kuʻu Morning Dew,” a touching melody by the late Eddie Kamae of the Sons of Hawaiʻi, played in Makanaʻs sublime slack key style in “taro patch” tuning as inspired by the late Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu Kāne;

“Aloha Found,” a new original composition from Makanaʻs forthcoming yet-untitled musical about Hawaiʻi, which speaks to the way the ʻāina (land) can deepen our connection to Hawaiʻi;

And many more! Makana will employ various singing styles as he draws from a myriad of Hawaiian vocal masters, sharing the magically diverse character of nā leo o Hawaiʻi Nei. His beloved guitar, “Morning Star,” an old Takamine gifted him at the age of 13 by his parents and Uncle Sonny, will be with him onstage, which is special – considering it was stolen in 2005 and missing for 12 years! A few years ago, it was discovered by a fan who thoughtfully realized it belonged to Makana and returned it to him. Not a fancy guitar by any means, this old “beater” has a sound unlike any other guitar you have heard: pure resonance, symphonic in quality with deep bass resonance that fills the room as crystalline highs dance atop through timeless slack key melodies. Makanaʻs guitar innovations have allowed him to employ a range of “secret” old (and new) tunings to create a grand sound with just a single guitar. This is the magic of slack key: the tunings themselves are part of the art.

Slack key guitar originated in the 1800s in Hawaiʻi after the vaqueros (Latin cowboys) were invited by Kamehameha III to train kānaka (native people of Hawaiʻi) in managing the growing cattle populations on Maui and Hawaiʻi islands. Late at night by the campfire, guitars would be played, and eventually traded or gifted to pāniolo (Hawaiian cowboys). Those early Hawaiian players took old Spanish tunings, changed them, creating uniquely Hawaiian tunings by “slacking” the keys (strings). Over time various ʻohana (families) developed their own styles. Slack key was the most private of musics until Leonard Kwan, Raymond Kāne (also one of Makanaʻs teachers), and Gabby Pahinui made landmark recordings that unleashed a public interest in this rare folk art. Today, there are just a handful of slack key guitarists. Makanaʻs art is firmly rooted in the tradition of Hawaiian slack key guitar.

www.makanamusic.com

Pasifika Artists Network
Karen A. Fischer
1-808-283-7007
karen@pasifika-artists.com
www.pasifika-artists.com

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University of California, Irvine

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James Mai
Sherry L. K. Main
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Stuart Winston
Anu Worah

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