Friday, August 31, 2007

The Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band


I found this CD at a charity shop today for 99p. I'm a big fan of Ry Cooder and remember him playing some of Gabby's music when he was a guest on Charlie Gillett's radio show around the time this record was made - back in 1974. This is a re-issue from 2000 on the Edsel label. I expect you can still find it somewhere.
On this session he is joined by Ry and his sons Bla and Cyril. Also in attendance are Atta Issacs, Sonny Chillingworth, Manuel "Joe Gang" Kupatu and Randy Lorenzo. Recorded in Hawaii at Gabby's home where generators were bought especially as there was no electricity and the pahoehoe lava walls made excellent acoustics.

"Gabby Pahinui helped to lay the foundation for Hawaiian slack key guitar playing. Although he recorded only one internationally released album, Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band, Vol. 1, his influence continues to be reflected in the playing of Hawaiian slack key players and American guitarists including John Fahey, Leo Kottke, and Ry Cooder. During an early-'90s interview, Pahinui's son, James "Bla" Pahinui, also a skilled slack key guitarist, recalled, "My dad got away with a lot of stuff because it worked. He touched so many people because he shared what was in his heart in such an honest and direct way."

Pahinui recorded the first slack key recordings in 1946. He continued to lead his own band, the Sons of Hawai'I, until the early '70s when he formed a new group with his sons Charles, Cyril, and James. Their first steps towards international fame came when Ry Cooder traveled to Hawaii to record Gabby Pahinui Hawaiian Band, Vol. 1, during a two-week-long session at Pahinui's home in Kona in 1974. The home had been the site for nightly jam sessions for many years. The same year, Pahinui made a guest appearance on Cooder's album Chicken Skin Music."


Gabby Pahinui - Aloha Ka Manini

Gabby Pahinui - E Nihi Ka Hele

Gabby Pahinui - Ipo Lei Manu


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5 comments:

Big Al Davies said...

Fabulous stuff, I've escaped from flickr Michael, we are free!

Wastedpapiers said...

Hi Al, Glad you like it. Its a shame he only maded the one album but it's a corker! I went to a boot sale this morning but no records or CD's alas.
You've escaped from Flickr before - is this really the last time? I've been tempted to rejoin but thankfully I can pop by on Hazel's stream and see what's going on from time to time. Are you still blogging?

Big Al Davies said...

This is the last time, I was unsafe, I couldn't keep up with all the comments any more, I was having kind people visiting and I didn't visit theirs. I'll keep blogging, it is less time consuming. The best days there have gone I feel.

Wastedpapiers said...

Everything changes- one door closes and two more open up ( or is it the other way around?) Good to hear you will still be blogging.

Charlie Gillett said...

Glad to know you were listening back then. That album was probably my way into music from outside the Western mainstream, and now I'm floating outside it on a permanent basis.

Charlie Gillett