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Hawaiian Slack Key Christmas is genre melding of the best sort: incredible guitar playing in the Hawaiian tradition dominates the disc, but the material is mostly familiar holiday carols. The result is a truly original and refreshingly low-key take on Christmas music.
Keola Beamer's version of "Away in a Manger" is filled with jazzy bass touches;
Led Kaapana and
Bob Brozman's "Jingle Bells" is a hard-driving and virtuosic showpiece, with Brozman seemingly working the entire fretboard; and
Bla Pahanui's arrangement of "O Come All Ye Faithful" is gorgeous and creative.
Ozzie Kotani's "First Noel" is understated but a touch too sentimental and the three vocal tracks--by
Dennis Kamakahi,
Leonard Kwan, and Joanie & Ruth Komatsu--seem out of place amid all these lush guitar textures. That said, this is still a great album and a wonderful alternative for guitar lovers who've worn out their copies of John Fahey's
legendary Christmas album.
--Jason Verlinde
Product Description
Featuring many of today s top Hawaiian Slack Key guitarists, HAWAIIAN SLACK KEY CHRISTMAS adds the perfect Hawaiian touch to your holiday season with eleven instrumentals and three vocals, each performed in the intimate
kï hö alu (Slack Key) style. From the bouncy joy of fun songs like
Jingle Bell Rock to the passionate beauty of
The First Noel these timeless classics of standard and Hawaiian songs will fill your heart with aloha for many Christmases to come.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
