Free Digital Sheet Music

There is a chill in the air here in south eastern Australia. What better way to ward of the winter blues with a Hawaiian themed muxtape? You can pretend that you are: ‘Neath swaying palm trees Warm, friendly sea breeze When you hear the mellow steel guitars Moaning sweetly under tropic stars Information on the tracks and artists over the fold. Kalamas Qaurtet - Hapa Haole Hula Girl Hawaiian music was not a pure music. Blues, jazz and popular styles all came together in an island blend. Kalamas Qaurtet reflected that blend of styles combining hot licks with harmony vocals. Arhoolie’s Early Hawaiian Classics collects the 1927- 1932 recordings of the Kalamas Quartet. King Bennie Nawahi - Singing in the Bathtub One of the early legends of the Hawaiian guitar, King Bennie Nawahi dazzled on the strings. And like a lot of artists around that time combined popular sounds of the time with traditional Hawaiian melodies. And hot guitar,don’t forget that. This track is from Hawaiian String Virtuoso on Yazoo of which Time did a great review. Andy Sannella - Slidin’ On The Frets Andy Sannella was a talent instrumentalist. Playing not only guitar but able to make melodies divine with the sax and other reed instruments. Taken from the Yazoo albumSlidin’ on the Frets. Sol Hoopii - I Like You and Hula Girl The undisputed king of Hawaiian guitar. Sol Hoopii took Hawaiian lap steel beyond its usual confines and experimented with different tunings to expand the range of the instrument, dazzling listeners at the same time. There is a very marked ‘hot’ jazz influence in Sol’s style. Compare Sol’s version of Hula Girl with the Kalamas Quartet’s version. And be sure to check out Master of The Hawaiian Guitar Vol 1 for his best sides. Vol 2 ain’t that bad either. Jules Ah See - Maui Chimes Jules Ah See is one of the more obscure Hawaiian artists but this version of the standard Maui Chimes nicely rolls along. One of the songs any budding Hawaiian guitarist must learn. From History of Hawaiian Steel Guitar. Jim & Bob - Hula Blues The Genial Hawaiians sort of faded into history but not before recording some classic sides. Hula Blue is not a blues by any stretch but a great bit of 1930s state of the art Hawaiian sound. From It’s Hotter in Hawaii on JSP. Sol K Bright’s Hollywaiians - Tomi Tomi Sol K Bright was on Sol Hoopii’s band for a while. And Sol’s influence can be heard on Tomi Tomi. A definite jazz influence shows through and the steel is light hearted and bounces through the changes. Genoa Keawe - Alika Leaving the hot guitars behind for one of Hawaii’s great singers. Alika is a showcase of her mighty falsetto that goes on and on. The band has great fun vamping on the chord as she stretches out the notes. Sadly, she passed away earlier this year. From the Rough Guide to the music of Hawaii. Gabby Pahinui - I’m A Livin’ On Easy Slack Key is the other guitarist form of Hawaiian music. No sliding just finger picking in slack key (open) tunings. Gabby Pahinui is one of the master and the song I’m A Livin’ on Easy has become a Hawaiian standard. George Keoki Davis - Wahine Slack Key Wahine refers to specific tuning and in this case D Wahine (D-A-D-F#-A-C#). I don’t know much about George Davis himself but the liner notes to History of Slack Key Guitar indicate this tune was recorded in the 1950s. Bob Brozman - Hawaiian Heat Waves Melody Bob has done a lot to promote Hawaiian music around the world. This melody is a showcase of steel guitar as well as quick tour around the islands. Bob will be back in Oz around September/October so watch out for him. From the album Hello Central…Give me Dr. Jazz.