Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 2011 — Maui music fest honors master steel guitarist [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Maui music fest honors master steel guitarist

By Cheryl Corbiell

The third annual Henry Kaleialoha Allen Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival plays tribute to the rich musical legacy of the festival's namesake and the revival of the steel guitar in Hawai'i. Honored teacher, composer and virtuoso of the steel guitar for 60 years, Allen performs April 29 to May 1 at Maui's Kā'anapali Beach Hotel. The festival celebrates the steel guitar technique invented and popularized in Hawai'i in the late 19th century. Although the steel guitar is found in other music styles such as blues and jazz, the festival will feature the rich, resonating sounds of the steel guitar in Hawaiian music. Allen was recognized as "Master Artist" of Hawaiian steel guitar and Hawaiian music by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and by the Hawai'i Academy of Recording Artists, as well as recognized by the State Senate as "Hawaiian Musician Extraordinaire" and "Living Treasure" in recognition of his lifetime work on the Hawaiian steel guitar. "Music put my name on the map in Hawai'i, and I've spent my life promoting Hawai'i to the world

playing the Hawaiian steel guitar. Today, the steel guitar has converts around the world, but it is fading as a musical instrument in Hawai'i because of a laek of teachers," says Allen. "The steel guitar's future in Hawai'i lies in educating people about the steel guitar and making the guitars more available." The festival, sponsored in part by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, features free concerts, presentations and hands-on workshops. A daily hands-on steel guitar making workshop with Dr. Neil Scott, Director of the Archimedes Project at the University of Hawai'i, uses steel guitar building kits provided free to all workshop participants. "Dr. Scott's kit is an affordable way to build a steel guitar, making it more accessible to aspiring players," says Allen. Lectures by premier steel guitar artists in round robin-style breakout sessions include Alan Akaka sharing steel guitar techniques and his own steel style; steel guitarist Greg Sardinha discussing recording tips; and Kiyoshi Lion Kobayashi, Japan's famous Hawaiian steel guitar player, explaining how to blend jazz with Hawaiian steel guitar. Another workshop opportunity is a talk story session with steel guitarists Duke Keolani Ching and

Henry Allen. Other workshops include lei making, ti-leaf skirt weaving, hula implements, Hawaiian quilting, Hawaiian tattoos and Hawaiian hula lessons. On Lriday evening, a concert under the stars in a backyard style kanikapila jam session invites everyone to bring instruments and play along with the festival's workshop guitarists. On Saturday, Henry Allen and his band Tropical Swing headline the gala event. Other featured steel guitar entertainers include Alan Akaka and the Islanders and Japanese singing sensation Masami. Another jam session with festival guitarists happens Saturday

aftemoon. On Sunday, celebrate Lei Day as they did during Hawai'i's territorial days by listening to the Hawaiian steel guitar masters during the Kā'anapali Beach Hotel's champagne brunch. The Henry Kaleialoha Allen Hawaiian Steel Guitar Lestival is part of the 2011 Maui Invitational Music Lestival sponsored by the Arts Education for Children Group, or AECG, to provide opportunities for students and play alongside accomplished instructors. Since 1996 AECG, a nonprofit organization, has been dedicated to raising puhlie awareness about the positive impact music and arts participation has on children and adults. Allen began his lifelong journey with music as a young boy watching his unele play steel guitar, but Allen fondly remembers over half a century ago when he studied music in band class at McKinley High School. Reading music changed his life. "Hawaiian musicians ean play anywhere in the world for the rest of their life if they know how to read and write their own music," he says. ■ Cheryl Corbiell is an Instructor at the University ofHcmaVi Maui College-Moloka'i and a reading tutor at Kaunakakai Elementary School.

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An annual slack key fest on Maui celebrates Henry Kaleialoha Allen, who will join in on the fun. - Photo: Courtesy ofHenryAHen