In the slack-key of love: Hawaiian guitarist Makana
March 1, 2019 / Molly Boyle / Pasatiempo
Two years ago, Hawaiian musician Makana was reunited with the guitar he thought was gone forever. Named Morning Star, the guitar was stolen from Makana’s Kaimuki home in 2005. For more than a decade, one of Hawaii’s most internationally acclaimed slack-key guitarists played on, opening for Sting, Elvis Costello, and Carlos Santana without his self-described “best friend.” It had been given to the child prodigy at age eleven by his late mentor Sonny Chillingworth.
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ACOUSTIC ALOHA
November 2015 / Jimmy Leslie / Guitar Player
Makana came to GP’s attention when he narrowly missed snagging top honors at GP’s 2008 Guitar Superstar competition. He stood out from the electric shredders naturally, and his acoustic playing came from a place of soulful tradition. Notable slack key master Sonny Chillingworth taught Makana hand to hand, and Makana has made it his mission to spread the style far from its exotic origin.
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Makana’s String Theory
Spring/Summer 2014 / Jocelyn Fujii / Wailea Magazine
When the slack-key artist Makana says, “I’m here to create a revolution,” I believe him. Those who have watched him command the stage since he was a teenager believe him, too, and those who have heard him at environmental rallies and fundraisers also nod knowingly.
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interview with makana
October 2013 / Jon Berrien / Groundsounds
Aloha! Born and raised on the Hawaiian island O’ahu, composer, singer, and slack key guitar master Makana, has been creating waves of inspiration with his music and activism. GroundSounds recently caught up with the pioneer of the slack rock guitar in the exclusive interview below, check it out.
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Makana Shares Aloha with his Slack Key Music
June 15, 2009 / James H. Collins / The Associated Press
Without aloha, the style of Hawaiian slack key guitar playing or “ki ho’alu” is merely a collection of techniques. The 31-year-old musician from Honolulu explained during a recent interview that slack key’s “voicings make it cultural, and the approach makes it universal.”
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The People
March 2003 / Esquire Magazine
Born and raised on Oahu, Henry Kapono (left, whose last name means “righteous”) has played alongside musicians like Dizzy Gillespie. Slack-key guitar music, indigenous to Hawaii, has been around longer than the blues, and Makana, right, is considered the greatest living player.
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