TAKE A MUSICAL adventure through a true Hawaiian art form. Slack key (ki ho‘alu) is Hawaii’s own and it is one of the greatest acoustic guitar traditions in the world.

Slack key style developed in the 1830s, when Spanish and Mexican cowboys brought the guitar to the Islands. The Hawaiians quickly adopted the guitar into their culture, creating many original tunings to suit their music and to better match the key of the vocals. Slack key is a “finger-picked” style with some of the strings “slacked” from the standard tuning.

Slack key is a living art form and many Hawaiian musicians have put their own special stamp on this unique sound. The songs on this CD span nearly a century. You’ll hear “Lovely Hula Hands” by the renowned “hapa-haole” composer, Alex Anderson, and the contemporary sounds of J. P. Cruz on “Island Style.” There are ballads; “Blue Hawaiian Moonlight” by Al Dexter and “Honolulu City Lights” by Keola and Kapono Beamer.

And there are songs that every visitor is sure to remember, “Lovely Hula Hands”, “Hukilau”, “Little Brown Gal”, “On the Beach at Waikiki” and “Tiny Bubbles”. The definitive slack key swing tune, “Sophisticated Hula” from Sol Bright is included, as is that big movie number, “Blue Hawaii“.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy it! There is nothing like ki ho‘alu..