Like an island breeze, this long-awaited third album by Hawaiian
slack-key guitar guru Patrick Landeza is warm, wide-ranging and
utterly engaging. His original compositions showcase not only his
agile picking (the bopping "Keawe's Slack Key," "Berkeley Bounce") but
also his genre-hopping arrangements (dobro on the haunting,
countrified "A Song for Stan," banjo on the jaunty Irish ceilidh
"O'Sullivan's Kiho'alu"). The same is true on his respectful but
re-energized covers of Hawaiian classics, including a galloping "Kila
Kila Na Rough Riders," the salsa-inflected "No Ke Aha," the deftly
woven instrumental "Manuela Boy/Honolulu Harbor," and "Maori Brown
Eyes," sweetened by both Jeff Au Hoy's steel guitar and the
vocal/string contributions of Dennis and David Kamakahi. Other guest
stars include Sally Van Meter, Steve Baughman, Asa Young, Herb Ohta Jr. on 'ukulele and slack-key guitarists George Winston, George Kuo and Cyril Pahinui.
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