Ledward Kaapana: Hawaiian Music

from the Library of Congress in Washington DC you well thanks for coming in from out of the heat I am MT Petersen I'm the director of the American Folklife Center here at the Library of Congress and on behalf of the staff and everyone here I want to welcome you all for the latest concert in our homegrown concert series here in the beautiful Coolidge auditorium today we're going to hear a wonderful musician led work upon our and some beautiful Hawaiian slack key guitar from the 2011 NEA Heritage fellow recipient and this concert is also a part of a group of programming that we've been doing throughout this year highlighting and celebrating some of the national heritage fellows selected by the National Endowment for the Arts so but a little bit about the concert series the homegrown concert series is an opportunity for the American Folklife Center to work with folklores at the musicologist cultural specialists from around the United States who work with us to select and identify the very best traditional artists musicians performers storytellers to come to Washington DC to share their cultural traditions with you and also share their cultural traditions with our archive and I should say the concert today will be recorded all of our concerts are recorded and will be webcast and preserved so that future generations can hear this wonderful music and people around the world can hear this so with that caveat let me just say if you have a cell phone turn on please turn it off at this point or you will be in our archive I should also say that when we work with specialists from around the country we also work with organizations particularly here in Washington DC to present these artists and today is no different and today's concert is co-sponsored with the Kennedy millennium stage and the smithsonian folklife festival so today's concert we are going to hear LED word apana who is a master of two of the major string instruments from Hawaii the Hawaiian ukulele and the slack key guitar which is a finger style guitar art form that originated in Hawaii this talent which has combined with his vocal skills in a beautiful baritone and that beautiful falsetto have made him a legendary performer and he has been entertaining audiences in Hawaii and abroad for more than 40 years he was awarded the national heritage fellowship as I mentioned earlier by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2011 now led word grew up in Kalapana in the southernmost district of Hawaii Island or the Big Island as it is sometimes called and he grew up in a family of musicians his teachers included his mother mama Tina kupuna from whom he learned to sing the beautiful falsetto and his Uncle Fred Punahou over the course of his career led word has dedicated himself to perpetuating the traditional style and repertoire of his home village and he'll be telling you a little bit more about that this began in his teens when led word and his twin brother Ned word with their cousin Dennis Pavao formed them form the musical group who Johanna that group produced over fourteen best-selling albums made hundreds of live appearances and became key figures in the revival and resurgence of a traditional Hawaiian culture music and language that occurred during the 1970s led word later formed the trio at Kona and he's a prolific recording artist he's earned four Grammy nominations in his own right and won two Grammys for slack key album album compilations he's worked with numerous musicians in Hawaii Nashville Los Angeles so please let's give Edward apana a warm welcome Aloha oh nice to be here it's an honor to be here I'm so I'm happy to be here and have a nice time and to see our families and friends here just I'm here to share some Hawaiian music stops Lackey let this music in Kalapana my dad my uncles and auntie's they won't play this music as I was growing up so you know so special to see this every day just the way I learn and my mom and dad Augustine and his grandmas they never did read music all they knew the keys was G C F befriend a anything after there was second s second G second b-flat then a form of second Apple c7 then I started to learn all all the keys and now associate with you this physical on one of the sunday my uncle faith place early in the morning you know living in Kalapana were so isolated no electricity learn how to live off the land the highway go fishing we raise chickens Biggs and the music was always there so it took off in the morning uncle pages to plays guitar and we still hear songs like we do hula and my yellow tea journey [Music] you and [Music] and [Music] and [Music] you [Music] you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you thank you there was the hottest song to do the first song but now I'm feeling okay can you could tell I was nervous yeah [Laughter] [Music] this is a song that I recorded you know an italics with a beautiful song a love song the reason why I heard that she wrote this song because of all these beautiful ladies in the halau that did all the hula so zero the song called money money translated into English is called beauty [Music] a horrible luleå Dickie [Music] take care they hold a piggy [Music] Oh [Music] we go [Music] Peggy [Music] and [Music] Oh [Music] you what I can do my in the year [Music] haha [Music] Hinata lululu he run away piggy [Music] are you not a fool here one day he picked a key [Music] [Applause] Mahalo Mahalo thank you don't mind me I have it too much fun on stage I always do it seems like sometime I watching my own show another song that I love I recorded is formula of one my CD called the legend [Music] was composed by the label in empty and muddy fields song Atarot a cool sweet pony [Music] did you sleep [Music] or email a hobby [Music] in every room yeah a cool sweet [Music] yo a Hopi my goodness me Oh you [Music] they call a Abel be my equals me [Music] aha [Applause] so that's why I was so lucky you know living in Kalapana and listen to all his music and very important you know in June I was in on the island of Maui teaching slack II and now for me the first time I taught Trekkies was pretty hard because nobody taught me how to play the guitar or the way I learn is watching my dad and my mom so I had all this opportunity you know the music was always there so an editor stood in and always tell them to bring your cameras or bring your phone so that way you can take something back with you and you can watch and learn so maybe easy for me 50 I remember a trend event for my Uncle Fred he always know me chest press so you notice they're gonna be busy so I start pressing and it looks at me sis press the right key so that's what I heard and then ever since that time I always use that flame test pass another song he taught me this song is called ku'uipo on and ona oh yeah this style of playing you know the town plays the bass notes were the finger does all the other melody chords [Music] you [Music] and you [Music] [Applause] I forgot to let you one you folks this fellow playing a music is that sometimes we tune for one hour and only play for two minutes just joking [Music] you know like I always say this you know it's not a complete show Oh enjoy if you don't have a hula dancer on the stage yeah someone may send for Judi buried or yes he's all the way from Honolulu she's a special lady her in my wife Sharon Kalpana boutique in Terry end of February [Music] so far is everybody doing good yeah anyway the song that takes you to the Big Island of Hawaii [Music] to be the song called a corner will you [Music] Oh [Music] we came [Music] Oh [Music] Oh you [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] yes you [Music] Oh [Music] Oh beautyberry Mahalo Mahalo [Applause] one year you know I was on the Big Island of Hawaii plane in Kona and this gentleman came up to me and he says uh hi late my name is Chuck Moore and I want to be you in ukulele no strings attached I really so this local LED built it's right here on the stock of the locally you see this Elaine it is the black sense of kalapana where I come from and over here is the state chest press on the fret board I got LK over here and I got a hole here for you folks and I got one for me over here - and then it's awkward so he made it awkward and since Davey stuck more he call is the more Baraboo holiday I think everything up as I go along [Music] we're talking about Illyria do have my new brilliant city up there is called Jasper's volume two just one the Hoku's back home in Hawaii for album holiday album of the year Mahalo thank you a share of song that is on his local area underfunded CD for song some of the island [Music] you [Music] thank you the reason I'm laughing because every time I play the song I always paint it different so I have been fun you know just always doing something else deepening in painter and that's the reason why it's nice when you can play from within it's how you feel and how we play another song that I recorded I love this song so much composed by the late uncritical I got so many beautiful songs and it's wonderful that he worked with lovely wife so calm excuse me sweat burner I'm gonna come by and uh a song integral equal money do [Music] leo [Music] are you worried on [Music] hey Cody bye Oh hey Mike [Music] people a hero he knows you go [Music] are you [Music] well I [Music] I see [Music] the days were spending I beat up then you know [Music] all the room awaiting your return we know I came upon a toy [Music] I'm going to [Music] go go [Music] [Applause] [Music] also in this video just before him - ID - Lackey clerics Lackey of the Weasley [Music] [Applause] Mahalo Mahalo I just think she you see let me see how much time I got here Oh whoo faster plane fly it just when you're having fun here's another song that allowed to play on as I was growing up in cities his song on the radio yes in California we had radio running on batteries it was called transistor radio the small ones yeah I remember that you know since we're so far away in the data in the daytime the residents in work all the city is all ecstatic you know you turn it on here Shh no sound nobody talking then when they what they were brothers my older brother said hey let's take a copper wire and take it all up the coconut tree bring it down to the housing is put it in the back of the radio you know what we cut it when you see she called Carlito in Honolulu and we're in my big island this island how well this country Wesley music also and this this other song that I heard was called love this blue if I fell in love with it's also likely shade a song which evokes song called love is blue or Hawaiian song [Music] you [Music] [Applause] I'm sorry so far how's everybody doing are you feeling good [Applause] you [Music] you [Music] another song that I recorded and fell in love with take you to the beautiful enough kawaii [Music] I'm gonna flip into the pile of kawaii Oh quite a few of you they score cookie [Music] October 1 of one of the ways we discovered early Dennis Kamakahi [Music] in Vermont huh biggie d [Music] the girl [Music] I never never [Music] be my other [Music] you [Music] Oh he is hello [Music] people get [Music] Oh Oh [Music] [Applause] all right once again I like to say Mahalo for me folks will come in and supported the music and also am I saying once again for Judy Barrett earlier with the Mahalo [Applause] all sort of my lovely wife obvious what's in my CDs nice and her name is Sharon comma she's my backbone you know she don't keep me in line sir and we just celebrated our July 2014 one anniversary so happy happy for everybody well although find people that got me here to perform for you folks I see god bless everybody and a dedicated song to all the folks [Music] do-seong call oh never mind if you fall down but that's alright no it's called collie [Music] it give it a cramp [Music] never [Music] nevermind [Music] nevermind [Music] [Music] while would you like another calm you guys want something fair so you want something slow [Music] okay we do some funny old song hooks going to the other movie [Music] Oh Hey [Music] Oh you you the Oh ha [Music] you you [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Applause] mahalo thank you [Applause] this has been a presentation of the Library of Congress visit us at loc.gov

Channel: Library of Congress

Views: 285,784

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Id: OIpbzrJGvO4

Length: 63min 29sec (3809 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 14 2017