LED KAAPANA and FRAN GUIDRY
Schedule
Sun Oct 09 2022 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Location
Club Fox | Redwood City, CA
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Celebrate one of Hawaii's most revered musical traditions with slack-key guitar Masters - Led Kaapana and Fran Guidry.About this Event
Led Kaapana’s mastery of stringed instruments, particularly slack key guitar, and his extraordinary baritone and leo ki`eki`e (falsetto) voices, have made him a musical legend. He has been thrilling audiences for more than 40 years. With easy-going style and kolohe (rascal) charm, he has built a loyal corps of Led Heads from Brussels to his birthplace on the Big Island of Hawaii. Recognition by his peers earned Led 4 Grammy nominations in his own right and 2 wins on slack key compilations.
“Everything you play, every time you play, there’s a mood, an energy,” explained Kaapana. “If you plug into it, the music just flows. Even in a simple song, there are so many different ways to play the melody, the rhythm, the harmony. It never stops if you stay open to it.”
Kaapana was raised in a musical family in the tiny black-sand bay village of Kalapana, where there were few distractions. “We didn’t have electricity, not television, not even much radio,” said Kaapana, “so we entertained ourselves. You could go to any house and everybody was playing music.”
Kaapana learned music by playing with elders in backyard parties that would sometimes last for days, and grew to be one of the Islands’ top slack-key players and singers, as well as an acknowledged master of ukulele and slide guitar.
While still a teen, Kaapana formed Hui ‘Ohana with his twin brother and a cousin. The group produced 14 best-selling albums, made hundreds of live appearances, and became a key figure in the resurgence of traditional Hawaiian culture and music during the 1970s.
Since launching a solo career in 1983, Kaapana has continued to garner acclaim for his improvisational melodies and falsetto vocals. He has received four Grammy nominations for his solo albums and been a featured performer on three Grammy-winning compilations.
While recording for Dancing Cat Records, he produced a number of solo projects, duets, and a project with Allison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, and other bluegrass legends called Waltz of the Wind. He has worked with Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins, and many other Nashville notables. Back at home, he has shared his talents on recordings with most of Hawaii’s top talents, including Aunty Genoa Keawe, Barney Isaacs, The Ho`opi`i Brothers, Melveen Leed, the Pahinui Brothers, Amy Hanaiali`i, and countless others
In 2011, Kaapana received a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award. He has also won multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano (Hawaii’s “Grammy” awards), including Favorite Entertainer of the Year in 2009, and most recently, Best ‘Ukulele Album for his all-‘ukulele CD “Jus’ Press vol. 2” in 2017.
Northern California-based slack-key player Fran Guidry will perform with Kaapana.
“Kanikapila” is the Hawaiian term for a jam session, and kanikapila-style music is a common part of parties and get-togethers in Hawai’i or wherever island folks gather. Guidry began playing with Kaapana in true kanikapila style, jamming in backyards, garages and living rooms whenever they got together in Hawai’i or California.
Guidry’s playing complements and supports Kaapana’s. Rather than a conventional rhythm and lead sound, Kaapana and Guidry deliver fingerstyle duets with the two guitars dancing around each other in spontaneous harmony. It’s a sweet and relaxing sound that brings listeners the true feeling of Hawai’ian slack-key guitar, kanikapila style.
The two recorded an album of duets, “Kaleponi & Kalapana,” last year.
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Where is it happening?
Club Fox, 2209 Broadway, Redwood City, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
Tickets
USD 25.00 to USD 30.00
