Masters Of Hawaiian Music, George Kahumoku Jr., Led Kaapana, Jeff Peterson

Known as Hawaii's Renaissance Man, George Kahumoku Jr, is a multiple Grammy & Hoku Award winning master Slack Key Guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, performer, teacher, artist and sculptor, story-teller and writer, farmer and entrepreneur.?? George is known for playing slack key on a jumbo12-string guitar because he loves the full sound and the lower bass tones. He uses a custom Art Davis guitar, and since beginning the Slack Key Show seven years ago, has changed his favorite tuning from E flat to F to make it easier to play with others.

??In October 2003, George co-created the first venue ever dedicated to presenting Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar. First located at the Ritz Carlton-Kapalua, then moving to Maui's Napili Kai Beach Resort where it is now. The first show CD, produced from live recordings of the show, Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 1: Live in Concert from Maui won the 48th Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian Album. The 4 of the 5 sequels to this recording were all nominated, 3 of them winning Grammies.

A renowned story-teller on and off the stage, George collaborated with long-time friend, Paul Konwiser, to write down his entertaining semi-autobiographical short stories into his first book of short stories: A Hawaiian Life.
George lives on Maui, directing and teaching at the new Institute of Hawaiian Music at the University of Hawaii-Maui College. George spends his free time maintaining his small 3 acre farm growing fruit and vegetables, dry-land taro (for his famous home-made poi) and tending his goats, chickens, ducks, and miniature horses. True to his Hawaiian heritage, wherever he goes, George always brings bundles of fresh produce to share with friends and students. ??

Every summer in June, George Kahumoku Jr.'s Annual Maui Slack Key Guitar and Ukulele Workshop takes place featuring the finest music instructors. This workshop is one of the great musical experiences in the Islands today, and the result of George's belief in sharing, celebrating and perpetuating Hawaiian culture and music.


2011 NEA National Heritage Fellowship Recipient, Ledward Kaapana is Hawaii's premier master Slack Key guitarist. His inventiveness and fluidity, his versatility in multiple tunings, and his playfulness on stage, make him the leading master of this art, now recognized nationally by America's most prestigious award for the arts.

Led has been a professional musician for over 40 years. His mastery of stringed instruments and extraordinary baritone and leo ki`eki`e (falsetto) voice have made him a musical legend. His easy-going style and charm have made him a favorite of audiences throughout the world.??

Led grew up in a musical family in the tiny village of Kalapana, there were few distractions and everyone played music.?It was at the frequent family gatherings that Led learned to play in the old style, watching, listening, then imitating. Chief among his teachers were his mother, Mama Tina Kaapana, and his uncle Fred Punahoa.

As teenagers, Led and his twin brother Ned and cousin Dennis Pavao formed the Hui `Ohana, one of the hottest groups of the 70s and 80s and now legendary among Hawaiian musicians. The 70s saw the blossoming of the Hawaiian Renaissance, and Hui `Ohana was a key part of that return to traditional Hawaiian culture and music. Young Hawaii Sings Old Hawaii, the title of their first recording, was also their statement of purpose. ??The group produced 14 best-selling albums and made countless hundreds of live appearances, proudly sharing Kalapana's musical traditions. ??

Led later formed another trio, I Kona, releasing 6 albums with that group, including Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner, Jus' Press. He has also released solo albums, including two Na Hoku Hanohano Instrumental Album of the Year winners, Lima Wela and Black Sand, the latter of which was recorded on George Winston's Dancing Cat Records. Led also recorded Led Live, Waltz of the Wind, Kila Kila Meets Kihoalu, and others on Dancing Cat..

In 2006, Led's Kiho'alu-Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar was nominated for the 48th GRAMMY Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album and won the 2006 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. Led was featured on three compilation CDs winning Grammy Awards for Best Hawaiian Music. His solo Grandmaster Slack Key and Force of Nature (with Mike Kaawa) received Grammy nominations and Force of Nature also earned Led & Mike the Favorite Entertainer Award at the 2009 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. His newest recording is The Legend.

Led tours the US extensively. When home in Hawaii, he can be found on Sunday evenings at Kona Brewing Company in Hawaii Kai or once a month on Maui playing at George Kahumoku's Slack Key Show.


Recognized as one of Hawaii's most versatile musicians, Jeff Peterson is at the heart of the Hawaiian music scene today. His passion for the guitar has allowed him to shine as a solo artist and his deep knowledge of multiple open tunings as well as standard tuning, and his ability to both read music and play by ear, has given him the opportunity to collaborate with a wide variety of solo artists, groups, and orchestras. His focus on Slack Key guitar, classical, and jazz music has allowed him to develop a unique and transcendent voice on the guitar while being deeply rooted in the traditions of his Hawaiian heritage. He has contributed to two Grammy Award-winning recordings and has been honored with three Na H?k? Hanohano Awards in Hawaii. ?His latest solo CD, Maui on My Mind, won a hoku for Slack Key Album of the Year in 2010 and was nominated for a Grammy. His most recent release features his songwriting, performing, and producing on Amy Hanaiali`i and Slack Key Masters of Hawaii, which also won Hoku Awards and another Grammy nomination.

Born on the Island of Maui, Jeff Peterson grew up on the slopes of Haleakala where he was introduced to the rich heritage of Hawaiian music by his father, a paniolo, or Hawaiian cowboy, on the Haleakala Ranch.

As a performer, Jeff has had the honor to work with such prominent artists as Eric Clapton, James Galway, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Aaron Neville, Boz Scaggs, the Honolulu Symphony, and with many others. He has four recordings with Riley Lee: Maui Morning, Bamboo Slack Key, Haiku and Haleakala. He also released five solo slack key guitar CDs: Maui On My Mind, Kahealani, Slack Key Jazz, The Artistry of Jeff Peterson, and Pure Slack Key.

He has traveled to Europe, Asia, Australia, and across the US. He has performed for former president Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton. He performs regularly in Waikiki, at Maui's Slack Key Show and elsewhere in both solo and group settings. He taught the guitar at the University of Hawaii and is one of the premier instructors at George Kahumoku's Annual Maui Slack Key Guitar & Ukulele Workshop.

He attended the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005, when a recording featuring Jeff and other island artists, Slack Key Guitar, Volume 2 (Palm Records), won the first ever Grammy Award for best Hawaiian recording. He is also featured Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, Vol 2 (Daniel Ho Creations) which won the 2010 Grammy.