TV Review
Public TV to air slack-key masters
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
7:30 p.m. Thursday, repeating at 10 p.m. Sunday KHET, channel 11 (Oceanic 10, Versizon Americast 11)
Short on talk and long on talent, "Na Mele: Traditions in Hawaiian Song," airing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on Hawai'i Public Television, assembles three masters of slack-key guitar and vocals in a compact, revealing half-hour of song.
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'Na Mele'
The featured artists — all former Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners — are Cyril Pahinui, Dennis Kamakahi and Ledward Ka'apana. They are friends, they are competitors; and this sharing of the limelight is a matter of pana'i like (give and take) — and it works beautifully.
Assembled in small half-circle, they take turns in dusting off familiar melodies in soulful and personal new renderings.
Pahinui's "Make'e Aialana" typifies the simplicity and honesty of the turn-the-camera-on-and-let-them-play concept. Kamakahi also turns back the clock with "Hula O Make'e," his pliant voice matching his smooth strumming.Ka'apana's "Pauoa Liko Ka Lehua" enables him to show off his own sass, vocally and instrumentally.
