|
 Artist:
Henry
Kapono
CD:
Live - Dukes on Sunday
Category:
Island Contemporary
HENRY
KAPONO KA'AIHUE, is of pure Hawaiian
decent. He was born and raised on the
island
of
Oahu
in the small town of
Kapahulu
, located just outside
Waikiki
. Christened Kapono by his mother, it
is the Hawaiian word for righteous. His
family surroundings provided the early
musical influence that directed him into his
present career. He is a
humanitarian, a prolific award winning
songwriter, an accomplished actor and has
produced numerous albums, video works and
concerts.
Henry started singing in a
choir. The first instrument he learned to
play was the ukulele, followed by the
acoustic guitar, which he learned to play by
listening to the radio and records. His
natural athletic abilities earned him full
scholarships to the highly regarded
Punahou
Academy
in
Honolulu
and later, the
University
of
Hawaii
. He began his professional career as a
young solo performer, singing and playing
the guitar in a small folk club in
Waikiki
. This led to a short stint playing rock
with a local island group called Pakalolo.
The group played the islands and toured the
far-east, where he chose to spend the next
two years in
Vietnam
entertaining the troops. This experience
profoundly affected his music, his
appreciation of life and his love of all
people.
Upon returning to
Hawaii
, Kapono began an eight year collaboration
with Cecilio Rodriguez, forming the duo of CECILIO
& KAPONO. Blending together their
distinctive and individual talents, they
gave contemporary and folk rock a new
perspective. Within eight months Cecilio
& Kapono had a three album recording
contract with Columbia Records. "C&K"
recorded eight albums together.
 Continually
evolving, Kapono returned to his solo career
in 1981 with the release of Kapono -
Stand in the Light, and then created
an incredibly broad range of musical
expressions through 12 solo albums to date.
Kapono's extensive collection
of "feel good" original
compositions, as well as his choice of cover
songs, resonates with many of the musical
influences on his art. Bob Marley, Loggins
and Messina, Eric Clapton and the
Eagles can be detected in a musical
phrase here, an intonation there, and an
emphasis somewhere else. But the resulting
musical tapestry is a unique blend of aloha
with soul, set to island rhythms and is
exclusively Kapono's.
Henry Kapono Ka'aihue,
the man and the artist, is quintessentially
Hawaiian. The gentle, powerful yet shy man
embodies the spirit of aloha and his music
is infused with his love for
Hawaii
and all people. Kapono's music transcends
his Hawaiian heritage which he loves so
much. He has the gift that most great
artists share: the ability to enable us to
gaze upon their painting or ponder their
work or listen to their music - and find new
meaning and purpose in our own lives.
Kapono touches the soul
with the simple honesty of his lyrics and
music, and the gift of an evocative,
plaintive balladeer's voice that haunts you
long after he leaves the stage.
Sample
Shots:
-
Island
Boy 
-
Sailing
c.2003
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