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KING BENNIE NAWAHI
Hawaiian String Virtuoso (Yazoo/Shanachie)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Okay, first of all I want to talk to guitarist, then I want to have a word with fans of historic music, so bear with me here, please.
Guitarists: This will buzz you bigtime. King Bennie Nawahi was a Hawaiian multi-instrumentalist who played slack-key guitar, ukulele, steel, and various other instruments including something called a one-string cigar box fiddle. Now, a lot of us know the feeling that goes along with the saying "Jack of all trades, master of none," but the King was master of all, and the man could sing, too. And this is just the beginning. He never held himself to Hawaiian music! The man played jazz and blues with equal virtuosity, and in fact traveled to the US to play the Vaudeville circuit and the clubs, hooking up with many jazz greats, including Walter "Fats" Pichon, playing as a featured soloist on steel guitar in his bands. Playing grade: A+. It's a must have.
In terms of music history, there's a fascinating slab of it right here. King Benny Hawahi was born in Honolulu in 1899, he taught himself to play the slack-key style on a $2.50 guitar, then moved on to steel and just kept going. By the time musicians were being recorded in the 20s and 30s, the King was popping up on records here and there. Some of those records are now almost impossible to find.
Clarification: I don't mean you have to look hard. I mean almost impossible like Atlantis is almost impossible to find. Shanachie Records has pulled off a miracle getting hold of these recordings.
While many of the musicians recorded during the early years of recording were mediocre (hey, they just wanted to make some records with whoever they could fine!), there were some gems, and the ones that feature the King are stunners. His level of musicianship has to be heard to be believed, and for many years, you couldn't do so. These things were just not to be found. There are two sections to the liner notes: one is a history, and then there is a one page detailing of the sound quality problems encountered and what they did to correct what they could. Essentially, the point they make is that in some cases the noise was louder than the music, but there were no other copies to choose from, so they cleaned them up the best they could without compromising the music itself. The result is a blanket of subdued crackle under some of the music. Trust me, you get used to it in short order. And if you don't, if you really are willing to miss out on music this wonderful, this historically important, just because it doesn't sound like a Steely Dan album, then shame on you.
The CD clocks in at 69 and a half minutes, not one of them dull. I recommend this highly.
If you're curious about the fate of the King, here's a quick rundown. One day in 1935, he was driving in Los Angeles and bam, right then and there he went blind. He was able to stop the car safely. He was only 36 at the time. He kept playing for the rest of his life, and he took up swimming as a serious activity. He trained and trained, and in 1946 he made world-wide news by being the only blind man to ever swim the channel between San Pedro and Catalina Island, a 26 mile stretch of heavy currents that he covered in 22 hours following a boat with a loud, clanging bell. None of which has a thing to do with this CD or the man's talent as a musician, but my God, isn't that something? He lived to the ripe old age of 86.
© 2001 - DJ Johnson