Grammy Museum welcomes slack-key

Gabby Pahinui’s overalls, Dennis Kamakahi’s trademark all-black performance outfit complete with paniolo hat and Ledward Kaapana’s signature red boots are among the approximately 30 artifacts that will be on display as the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles pays tribute to Hawaii’s slack-key masters.

The items will join guitars belonging to Cyril Pahinui, Sonny Chillingworth and Raymond Kane, album covers, old photographs and festival posters in a new 20-foot glass case at the museum, which has hosted exhibits showcasing the work of legends like Otis Redding, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Elvis, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson and Placido Domingo.

The “Ki Ho‘alu: Honoring the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Tradition” opens Feb. 10 in the week leading up to the 58th Grammy Awards and runs through April 30.

“The Grammy Museum was always interested in celebrating (slack-key) music with an actual exhibition, and finally in 2016 we get to do just that,” said traveling exhibitions manager Chris Morrison via email. “The exhibit will be housed in a new display case which is being installed here Monday. All of the artifacts are on loan directly from the artist or the artist’s estate.”

In conjunction with the exhibit opening, a special Mele Mei in L.A. concert on Feb. 10 will feature performances by Grammy winner Charles Brotman and Grammy nominees Amy Hanaiali‘i, Raiatea Helm and Jeff Peterson with additional appearances by Kawika Kahiapo, Makana, Bobby Moderow Jr. of Maunalua, and PALI. Earlier in the day, a workshop will explore Hawaiian music traditions and instruments.

Once the exhibit finishes its West Coast run at the end of April, it will travel across the Pacific to serve as a centerpiece for this year’s Mele Mei festivities in Honolulu.

The exhibit is the result of six years of effort on the part of the Grammy Museum and the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts. HARA President Pali Kaaihue, who also serves on the board of governors for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Pacific Northwest Chapter, worked with fellow board member and longtime Hawaiian music supporter Alan Yamamoto to cultivate a relationship with the museum and build support for the project from local organizations including Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Waikiki Beach Walk and Yasuda International.

“Our artists like Cyril (Pahinui), the late Rev. Dennis Kamakahi and, of course, Gabby Pahinui, they’re the pioneers who went out and put slack-key on the map,” said Kaaihue, 43. “To have ki ho‘alu featured at the Grammy Museum is really a statement and testament to how much the rest of the world can relate to and love slack-key guitar. To have an exhibit there is a great thing for us here in Hawaii. It’s kind of like a bridge, in a way, to have our art form there on a big stage.”

“Ki Ho‘alu: Honoring the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Tradition” will make its debut five years after the Hawaiian music album category was eliminated from the Grammys in a move to consolidate some lesser-known genres.

Brotman, 63, was the producer of “Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 2,” an instrumental compilation that showcased 10 slack-key players and won the inaugural Hawaiian music Grammy in 2005. While Hawaiian music now competes with Cajun, zydeco, Native American and other genres in the regional roots category, he said the fact that it continues to maintain a presence at the awards is something to be proud of.

“Having the (Hawaiian music album) category was really great,” he said. “Even having the regional roots music category has been really great. It has just brought so much more awareness globally to Hawaiian music.

“This year we have two nominees. While I’m sure we’d all prefer to have our own category, it’s still a great honor for Natalie (Ai Kamauu) and Keali‘i (Reichel) to be nominated and compete on a national level.”

The Mele Mei in L.A. concert will take place at 8:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Grammy Museum’s Clive Davis Theater. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at AXS.com. Visit grammymuseum.org for more information about the exhibit and melemei.com for more details on this year’s monthlong celebration of Hawaiian music and culture.

The 2016 Grammy Awards are Feb. 15.