HAWAIIAN TANGOS, HULAS AND BLUES

Your knowledge of Hawaiian music might be like mine, pretty much limited to Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles" and "Aloha Oe." If so, "Hawaiian Tangos, Hulas & Blues" (Hana Ola Records CD) will be a revelation, as well as a fine introduction. Ken Emerson covers many styles here with various guitars and ukuleles.
On many tracks he overdubs himself with guitars and ukes to emulate Hawaiian string bands. For example, on "Hilo Hanakahi" he plays a 1928 National Style 1 tri-cone steel guitar, a 1930 Martin style ukulele, a 2001 Amistar style 4 tri-cone steel guitar and a 1999 Superior steel guitar.
I do not mean to imply that Emerson takes an academic approach to his music. He appreciates tradition, using many local chanters and traditional vocalists, including Darlene Ahuna.
As it should be, however, the music has an easygoing vibe. It is intricate but mellow. All the songs have only string instruments and vocals, some of the latter by Emerson himself. Most of the tracks include a string bass player, and a few include guest players on fiddle and mandolin. "Ulupalakua" features Todd Rundgren on backing harmony vocals.
The 16 cuts, some written by Emerson, go beyond traditional Hawaiian folk to include "Sitting on Top of the World" done in a country-blues style, ska/reggae ("Natural Fact"), tango ("Tropico Pacifico"), jazz/blues ("Kalihi Blues") and even "The Third Man Theme."
If you think that more information on the CD sleeve increases both your understanding and enjoyment of the music (I certainly do), you will find it here. Besides listing and describing the instruments, he includes a biography, and short histories of both the Hawaiian steel guitar and the Hawaiian slack key (alternate tuning) style of playing.
One song, "Moonshadows on Coconut Grove," celebrates the hotel where Elvis sang "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" in the film Blue Hawaii. Songs like that killed many people's desire to hear more of the islands' music. Now with Ken Emerson and his friends, it is time to return.

- Rambles
written by Dave Howell

SLACK & STEEL

A HOT SAMPLER - Of new 'oldies', "Slack & Steel" (Liko Records CD LRCD 2002) reintroduces Ken Emerson in an acoustic treat. As the title implies, Emerson immerses style and soul into slack-key and steel guitar, and what a soothing excursion this is. Still remembered from his '70s-'80s stint with brother Phil as The Emerson Brothers, Ken Emerson is back with a very relaxing and resourceful sampler of Hawaiian standards reminiscent of the early 1900s.

There are hints of a jazz and blues inspiration here and there; the repertoire is a flashback to the time when the steel would "sing" where normally there were lyrics. The motif and manner are very much in the "dated" 78 rpm style, but with all the modern clarity that technology now provides. Emerson also experiments, creating what he calls "slack/steel", applying ki ho 'alu techniques to steel guitar. Result: an oldie-sounding newie that's a real hoot, a stroll down memory lane for some, an avenue of discovery for others. From a jaunty "Hanalei Medley" that alludes to the joy of Kauai, to the knock-'em-dead blues imprint on "Hula Blues," this is a very affectionate performance of a much-admired time, when plain was better than fancy, and a good instrumental lick was all that mattered.

Naturally, there are some lovely standards, like Leonard Kwan's "Moana Chimes,' and the beloved Sol Ho'opi'i classic, "Radio Blues". Happily, Emerson writes songs with that nostalgia bent that seems to have leaped up from eight or nine decades ago, including "Hotel Street Blues", "Wai Lehua" and "Ua 'Kea," all with another-time, another-place nuances. Plain, precise, powerful stuff here.

-Wayne Harada, Honolulu Advertiser

PICK OF THE PICKERS. Hawaii's top steel players all figured they knew one another - it's a small market after all - until Ken Emerson and his brother Phil came chiming out of nowhere back in 1978. The Emerson Brothers beat out 500 other groups for a track on a homegrown album, subsequently produced discs of their own and later backed isle recording star Moe Keale.

Now back after years of touring with artists such as blues great Charlie Musselwhite, Hilo's Liko Records showcases Ken Emerson's consummate steel work in this handsomely packaged and fastidiously recorded CD. "Slack & Steel" is to vintage music fans what a John Kelly print is to Hawaiiana collectors.

Hawaii's principal export to the world of music, the steel or "Hawaiian guitar" is credited to Kamehameha school student Joseph Kekuku, who in 1884 emerged from metal shop class with a cylindrical steel fret bar. He used this to coax otherworldly glides, twangs and pings from his guitar strings.

Kekuku's invention has enriched a century of Hawaiian, Hillbilly and country western music, and it took notable encores in the territory band and "swing" jazz heydays of the 1920s - 1940s. "Slack & Steel" pays homage to all these styles, honoring 1920's composer Alfred Alohikea ("Hanalei Medley"), Johnny Noble and Sonny Cunha ("Hula Blues"), Hawaiian steel guitar immortal Sol Ho'opi'i ("Radio Blues"), and contemporary slack key master Raymond Kane ("Punahele"). Emerson is confident enough to add five of his own compositions to a lineup that boasts Joseph Ae'a's classic "Hilo March", the traditional falsetto standard "I Kona" and an interesting twist to the time-honored chant from the Hanalei area, "Ula No Weo".

The "Slack & Steel" label is no shibai: Emerson thumbpicks the bass strings of his steel guitar while playing melodies with the other fingers and uses slack key tunings like open G (taro patch), F sharp minor (wahine) and other various other tunings. If you love steel guitar-or Hawaii's musical heritage, "Slack & Steel" is for you.

-Tom Stevens, Haleakala Times

SOUTH SEA ISLAND MAGIC - MOE KEALE

"South Sea Island Magic", by Moe Keale, featuring the acoustic sounds of the Emersons, Mountain Apple Co. MACD 2059

It doesn't get any more Hawaiian, or better, than Moe Keale's CD, which is an acoustic excursion back in time. Originally released in 1980, with The Emerson Brothers (Ken on steel guitar and Phil on various vintage guitars) providing the core of the musical support, and kokua from Roland Cazimero and Terry Paulo on bass and Robert Cazimero on backing vocals, Keale takes a splendid waltz down memory lane. Each tune is familiar, yet fresh, because of its uncluttered vision and performance. It's like encountering an old friend but embracing a new one.

The title song is a hapa-haole tune from yesteryear, but there are nuggets of delightful and authentic Hawaiian fare, meticulously hand-'picked' and re-interpreted in Keale's winning style. "September in the Rain" isn't Hawaiian, but in Keale's embrace and with an ukulele solo, it takes on a very likable Island glow and Mana'o (spirit). Listen to that backyard, swing tempo party-hearty spirit. Contagious.

And in keeping with the current retro craze, Duke Ellingtons' "Swingtime in Honolulu" is hip and hot, with Keale putting tongue slightly in cheek in delivering this wicky-wacky-hula tempoed winner. You can envision the swishing cellophane skirts. Speaking of hula, "Haleiwa Hula", the adorable Johnny Noble classic, retains that swing fling that characterizes the Emersons' steel and guitar work. "No Ke Ano Ahiahi", a tune Keale must have played a number of times while with the Sons of Hawaii, is a charmer in the upbeat mode. On a romantic note, Carlos Andrade's "Limahuli" sounds like a quick favorite. And the traditional "Ua Mau" is revived with all the solemnity expected of a tune about Josanna.

"Makaha", a newer composition by Roland Cazimero, is the most "modern" of the tracks - a place song with a powerful blues undercoat. "Scotch and Soda", the old Kingston Trio hit (Dave Guard wrote it), is predictably smokey - and hypnotic.

-Honolulu Advertiser, Wayne Harada