ISLAND ARTISTS: Slack Key Christmas

Island Artists

Slack Key Christmas

© 2007 Palm Records (652454024028)

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A collection of Christmas songs arranged for Hawaiian ki ho’alu (slack key guitar), featuring solo guitar performances by Sonny Lim, Jeff Peterson, GRAMMY winner Charles Brotman, Randy Lorenzo, Wailau Ryder, James Kimo West, Dwight Tokumoto and Ben Kaili.

notes

“Slack Key Christmas” was produced on Hawaii Island in the town of Waimea, the heart of paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) country where ki ho’alu originated. As you drive through Waimea in the winter, the roads are intermittently lined with red poinsettias and green pine trees. The chilly winter air of this high ranch land elevation gives paniolo country a special holiday feel during the Christmas season.

Ki ho’alu refers to the tuning of the guitar; the strings are loosened or ‘slacked’ to create various tunings for the instrument. This style of playing originated in the early 1800s when King Kamehameha brought vaqueros to Hawaii Island to teach Hawaiians how to ranch. The vaqueros introduced the guitar to the Hawaiians, who developed their own method of tuning.

“Slack Key Christmas” was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Charles Michael Brotman at Lava Tracks Recording Studio (www.lavatracks.com). Charles is the recipient of the first GRAMMY award for Best Hawaiian Music Album. “Slack Key Christmas” includes performances by four artists who performed on the GRAMMY award-winning CD “Slack Key Guitar Volume 2” (Sonny Lim, Jeff Peterson, Randy Lorenzo, and Charles Michael Brotman). Winter Wonderland was engineered by James West, and O Holy Night was engineered by Pierre Grill at Rendezvous Recording.

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reviews

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  • Slack Key Christmas
    author: Linn Garibaldi

    This is the most beautiful Christmas album I have ever heard ! Thanks guys.

  • AMG Review of "Slack Key Christmas"
    author: All Music Guide

    “Slack Key Christmas” …The slack key artists here are some of the best around…the players present are a veritable all-star group from the Palm label…. Highlights include Wailau Ryder's rendition of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and the incomparable Sonny Lim's "White Christmas," both of which showcase different aspects of the slack key's versatility and sheer musicality when placed in the hands of the greats.

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