Blue Note Hawaii ~ Makana

Makana is a singer, composer and master of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar tradition. Esquire Magazine refers to him as “the greatest living player,” and The New York Times calls him “dazzling.” As a child he learned directly from the legends of the art form, including Bobby Moderow, Raymond Kaleoalohapoinaʻoleohelemanu Kāne and Sonny Chillingworth. Slack Key is a style dating back to the mid-1800s in which the guitar strings are “slacked” into beautiful chordal tunings. In these tunings- handed down through generations-the player performs alternating bass patterns, complex rhythms and lead melodies simultaneously to create a sound that evokes “three guitars in one,” evoking a lush acoustic soundscape that summons the dramatic imagery of Hawaiʻi.