An Evening of Hawaiian Slack Key with Jim Kimo West July 21, 2012

Hawaiian "slack key" guitar master, Jim "Kimo' West presents an evening of enchanting "ki ho'alu" music with a special appearance by traditional hula dancer, Amanda Taketa.

As featured in the Oscar-winning film, "The Descendants", Hawaiian slack key is one of the world's most unique guitar styles and Kimo is one of the genre's leading exponents. He is the winner of the Hawaii Music Award, a two-time Na Hoku Hanohano nominee, and a two-time winner of the LA Treasures Award for his contribution toward to the perpetuation of slack key.

Dating back to the 1830's and even older than the blues, Hawaiian slack key got it's start on the Big island of Hawaii when Spanish vaqueros, imported to teach Hawaiian cattle management, brought guitars to the island for the first time. Hawaiian cowboys developed their own sound by "slacking" some of the strings to create a chord and many of these different tunings remain family secrets.

Kimo will be featuring music from his latest CD, "Na Lani O Maui- Maui Skies" and will be joined by some very special guests. You can get more info about Kimo at www.jimkimowest.com

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