Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 3, 1 March 2008 — Mahina O Waiʻalae [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Mahina O Waiʻalae

Reviewed by Blaine Fergerstrūm Media Prūductiūn Specialist

After teenage stints with bands like Red Session, Palolo Iones, and work with Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzman, Hawai'i rocker Stephen Inglis left the Islands for Francisco in 2003 to explore his musical horizons. He produced two albums, Fringes on the Wayside and Driftwood. Inglis, a native of Pālolo, then returned home and began exploring his roots, hooking up with slack key master Ozzie Kotani and honing his skills at kl hō'alu, or slack key, guitar. The result is an alhum of slack key classics released last October titled Mahina O Wai'alae. All 15 tracks on this alhum are taken from the songbook of loeal

standards and will be instantly recognized by traditional Hawaiian music fans.

The alhum starts off with an instrumental version of No Ke Ano Ahiahi, but the tracks that follow all feature Inglis on guitar and vocal. Kotani

adds guest guitar work throughout. Track 2, Make'e 'Ailana, is followed by the title track, Mahina O Wai'alae, then Pua Līlīlehua. All of the tracks seem to be of similar tempo and range, providing a very even, somewhat hypnotic sound. One exception is Pālolo, whieh is by nature a little more upbeat than the rest of the songs. Another upbeat track, Hanohano Hawai'i,

is one of this reviewer's favorites and is very well done by Inglis. It

features a bit of ha'i singing with vocal breaks famous among performers like Auntie Genoa Keawe, Gabby Pahinui and — "1 Raiatea Hehn.

Inglis' voice is a clear baritone 1 whieh floats eas- , ily along with his 1 slack key founda- |\ tion. While the J additionofheavy reverb on the cuts is sometimes

distracting, Inglis' guitar work and vocals are elean, sensitive and soothing. The alhum plays somewhat like easy listening, whieh many current kl hō'alu artists seem to be trying to emulate. This alhum is just right for enjoying at sunset on a lānai by the sea with a favorite beverage and good company at hand. Or even, as the title suggests, by moonlight in Wai'alae. I

Pōlolo native Stephen lnglis learned kī hō'alu under Ozzie Kotani, who shares guitar credits on Mahina 0 Wai'alae. - Photos: Courtesy of www.steveninglis.com