Kihoalu.org Artist Profile:
Ledward ("Led") Ka'apana
Ledward ("Led") Ka'apana is truly one of the great slack key players of all time. His career covers legendary groups like Hui Ohana and I Kona, successful collaborations with a number of artists, and a list of solo albums to ri
val any in Slack Key.
Led was born to a musical family in Kalapana on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1948. The town of Kalapana was a time capsule of ancient Hawai'i - a tight knit community relatively isolated from the rest of the world, but rich in Hawaiian culture. The town lacked electricity (and thus TV and Radio) and many people in East Hawaii fished or worked the cane fields for a living.
Led showed an early talent for music, and was tutored by his family, including his mother, singer Tina Ka'apana, and slack key legend Uncle Fred Punahoa (who later taught Sonny Lim as well). Beyond slack key, Led also picked up the uke, bass, and autoharp. If it had strings he played it.
Led rose to fame with the legendary group Hui Ohana, which roughly translates as "a group of family." Led played lead guitar, with his twin brother Ned on bass and their cousin Dennis Pavao on rhythm guitar and lead vocals. All three members sang and their three part harmonies set a standard for modern Hawaiian groups. The band enjoyed great success (despite some of the wardrobe choices on their album covers), but as is too often the case with successful groups, they split up eventually. Dennis Pavao later went on to a successful solo career and is widely regarded as one of the best Hawaiian falsetto singers ever.
Led also has a great falsetto voice, and he proved he could handle lead singing duties with the next group he formed, I Kona, named after perhaps his most famous signature song. The group would release several albums with different line ups, all helmed by Led.
In 1983, Led issued his first solo album, Lima Wela, but remained focused on I Kona and other projects. Led's solo career began to take off in the early nineties with the release of a remarkable string of albums on the then-emerging Dancing Cat label. Led Live was a groundbreaking live record, followed by two albums of duets with steel master Bob Brozman, a crossover record with bluegrass musicians such as Allison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Ricky Skaggs, and Sonny Landreth, and some more great solo albums (see below).
Led has won multiple Na Hoku Hanohano awards for instrumental album of the year, as well as in several other categories. Led has also been nominated for the Grammy in Hawaiian Music several times, and was featured on the compilation album that won the 2006 Grammy.
Led has toured the world, and between tours regularly plays in Honolulu at the famed Royal Hawaiian Hotel and the Kona Brewing Company Koko Marina.
Select Discography
The following albums were selected for the Kihoalu.org guide to building your collection of Hawaiian Slack Key, which highlights "Classic" albums:
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Kika Kila Meets Ki Ho'alu with Bob Brozman, Dancing Cat 1997. Steel guitar is a separate and perhaps more influential style of guitar invented in Hawaii. The two styles can make great duets, and this is an excellent album to start with. Though Led and Bob have another album out, and Bob's album with Cyril Pahinui is equally a classic, I chose this album because of the large number of standards it contains. Watch out though: these versions are jazzed up more than you normally see them. Buy "Kika Kila Meets Ki Ho'Alu" |
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Led Live - Solo, Dancing Cat 1994.Other Solo Albums by Led Ka'apana
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Lima Wela, Shaka Records, 1983 /2002. This is Led's first solo album. Contains a lot of classics, like "Punahoa Special," "Silver Strings" (Silver Threads Among the Gold), Koke'e," and Led's version of " Whee Ha!" Led has a backing band on the album, and makes for a good old school kanikapila. Na Hoku Hanohano Instrumental Album of the Year. |
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Black Sand, Dancing Cat Records 2000. Black Sand is something Led Kaapana would have been very familiar with growing up in Kalapana. The Cd of the same name features several excellent covers such as the classic Punahoa Special taught to him by the late Uncle Fred Punahoa, and an instrumental version of Dennis Kamakahi's Koke'e. This Cd is also interesting for its inclusion of two instruments rarely seen in Hawaiian Folk - Led busts out an autoharp for "Kanaka Waiwai / O Maria" and is joined for "Akaka Falls" by label founder and prominent pianist George Winston. This is an all around excellent Cd, and a must for any collection. Na Hoku Hanohano Instrumental Album of the Year. |
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Ki Ho'alu, Rhythm & Roots Records 2005. Another great album, and Led's first for the emerging Rhythm & Roots label. Songs include a version of "Opihi Moemoe," "Fish Market Slack Key," and the pleasant original "Slack Key Lullaby." There's also an instrumental rendition of "Killing Me Softly" on Uke. Grammy nominee and Na Hoku Hanohano Instrumental Album of the Year. |
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Grandmaster Slack Key Guitar, Rhythm & Roots Records 2006. Another great album by Led. It's tough to pull off a title like this, but Led does it and is one of the few who can. Great versions of Waialae, Hawaii Aloha, and the burning 12th Street Rag / Sweet Georgia Brown medley (also known as 'Jus Press'). |
Led Ka'apana with Hui Ohana - Hui Ohana released over ten albums, and the two "best of" albums are a good place to start. Continue on with Live at Sounds of Hawai'i Studio. Virtually everything they did is considered a classic, so if you see a Cd in the store, pick it up.
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The Best of Hui Ohana Vol. 1, Lehua Records, 1979 / 1988. Definitive standards like "Ulupalakua," "Maui Chimes," and "Lei Nani," and Hui Ohana fav's like "God Bless My Daddy" and "Nanakuli." Own it. You must. |
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The Best of Hui Ohana Vol. 2, Lehua Records, 1979 / 1993. Love the first "best of" and want more? This is the next step and equally as good if not better than the first comp. "'Akaka Falls," "Waikiki," "Hawaiian Rough Riders," "Sanoe," and "Ku'u Ipo Onaona." |
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Live at Hawai'i Sound Studios, Lehua Records, 1975 / 1998. A killer live album; you'll be blown away by the vocals on the opening cut, "E Ku`ulei, E Ku`uipo." Also the jammin "L-N-D Slack Key." |
Led Ka'apana with Other Artists
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Waltz of the Wind, Dancing Cat Records 1998. Waltz was a groundbreaking crossover record with bluegrass and roots legends Allison Krauss, Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Sonny Landreth, Stuart Duncan, and old friend Bob Brozman. This record may have garnered more attention were it relased a few years later on the tails of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (of course, it would also have been tougher to pull together). Overall, it succeeds in highlighting similarities in the spirit of Hawaiian and Bluegrass music. |
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In the Saddle with Bob Brozman, Dancing Cat Records 2001. This is the follow up to Led & Bob's first CD of Duets, Kika Kila Meets Ki Ho 'alu (see above), and is more of the same... which is good. A nice selection of songs, both traditional and originals. |
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Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar: Live from Maui, Daniel Ho Productions 2006. The second Grammy award wing compilation (2007) recorded over the course of 2005 at George Kahumoku Jr.'s excellent concert series on Maui. Led is featured on this one playing Opihi Moemoe... Also of note, Bobby Ingano does a killer version of Hula Blues. |
For a more extensive discography, visit Led's Website.
Select Links
Led's Official Site - calendar, bio, expanded discography.
Link to a 2004 Live Performance - at the Kennedy Center: this is killer.
You Tube Video - a quick clip of Led doing Sweet Georgia Brown at Pahala '06
Led's Bio on the Dancing Cat website.