Hawaiian String Virtuoso: Steel Guitar Recordings of the 1920's

Amazon.com essential recording
Along with Sol Hoopii, King Bennie Nawahi was the undisputed master of Hawaiian steel guitar music in the 1920s and '30s. His lyrical playing and virtuosic solos were as jazzy as the guitar playing of Django Reinhardt and his repertoire ranged from island tunes to Tin Pan Alley to the blues. It's hard to imagine that the same guy performing the slow and sentimental "Mauna Kea" could churn out a rollicking number like "Dinah" (here with the Red Devils), but Nawahi possessed a versatility and proficiency that few instrumentalists could match (in the '20s, he was even crowned "King of the Ukulele" for his numerous wins in stateside uke contests). On Charles B. Smith's "My Little A-1 Brownie," he juggles steel guitar, mandolin, standard guitar, and harmonica solos on the same tune (Benny Goodman did the clarinet solo). Nawahi is a legendary figure in Hawaiian music history, and liner notes by Robert Armstrong (whose Cheap Suit Serenaders would cover the Hawaiian's "Singing in the Bathtub" five decades after its release) tell the entire story. A great disc. --Jason Verlinde

Hawaiian String Virtuoso: Steel Guitar Recordings of the 1920's,King Ben Nawahi,Yazoo,Hawaii,Hawaiian,Hawaiian Music,Int'l & World Music,Pacifica,Pop,World Music

Average customer rating: A bit of everything great music Wish I could give this more stars... :-) Disappointing amazing cd ...

Hawaiian String Virtuoso: Steel Guitar Recordings of the 1920's King Ben Nawahi Manufacturer: Yazoo ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music Hawaii | Pacific Islands | International | Styles | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Pacific Islands | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Master of the Hawaiian Guitar, Vol. 1 Master of the Hawaiian Guitar, Vol. 2 Slidin' on the Frets: The Hawaiian Steel Guitar Phenomenon Hawaiian Steel Guitar Classics: 1927-1938 Plays Hawaiian Guitar, Banjo, Ukulele and Guitar ASIN: B00004TE0X Release Date: 2000-06-13

Tracks:

1. Hawaiian Capers - King Nawahi's Hawaiians
2. Singin' In The Bathtub - Four Hawaiian Guitars
3. Ukulele Benny - Georgia Jumpers
4. May Day Is Lei Day In Hawaii - King Nawahi's Hawaiians
5. Dinah - Red Devils
6. Mauna Kea - King Nawahi's Hawaiians
7. Honolulu Bound - Hawaiian Beach Combers
8. My Little A-1 Brownie - Charles B. Smith
9. Big Feet Rag - Georgia Jumpers
10. My Girl From The South Sea Isles - Hawaiian Beach Combers
11. Ticklin' The Strings - King Nawahi's Hawaiians
12. Black Boy Blues - Four Hawaiian Guitars
13. California Blues - Georgia Jumpers
14. I've Seen My Baby - Q R S Boys
15. Waikiki Blues - Hawaiian Beach Combers
16. I Went To Hilo - King Nawahi's Hawaiians
17. Guitar Rhythm - Georgia Jumpers
18. Hawaiian Melody - Hawaiian Beach Combers
19. Aloha Means I Love You - King Nawahi's Hawaiians
20. Wiggle Yo Toes - Q R S Boys
21. Otto Wood, The Bandit - Slim Smith
22. Maui No La Ka Oi - King Nawahi's Hawaiians
23. I'm A Dreamer Aren't We All - Hawaiian Beach Combers

Amazon.com essential recording

Along with Sol Hoopii, King Bennie Nawahi was the undisputed master of Hawaiian steel guitar music in the 1920s and '30s. His lyrical playing and virtuosic solos were as jazzy as the guitar playing of Django Reinhardt and his repertoire ranged from island tunes to Tin Pan Alley to the blues. It's hard to imagine that the same guy performing the slow and sentimental "Mauna Kea" could churn out a rollicking number like "Dinah" (here with the Red Devils), but Nawahi possessed a versatility and proficiency that few instrumentalists could match (in the '20s, he was even crowned "King of the Ukulele" for his numerous wins in stateside uke contests). On Charles B. Smith's "My Little A-1 Brownie," he juggles steel guitar, mandolin, standard guitar, and harmonica solos on the same tune (Benny Goodman did the clarinet solo). Nawahi is a legendary figure in Hawaiian music history, and liner notes by Robert Armstrong (whose Cheap Suit Serenaders would cover the Hawaiian's "Singing in the Bathtub" five decades after its release) tell the entire story. A great disc. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

A bit of everything.......2004-09-14

I love this disc, to put it bluntly. I'm not any sort of expert on any of the various Hawaiian musics, but I have a number of discs and this one is my favorite (so far). A few years ago at a Led Kaapana concert the woman behind me said she had something like 400 Hawaiian albums. She was way (and I mean waaaay) beyond me in terms of her breadth and depth of Hawaiian knowledge, but that never stopped me from writing a review. =)

For me, the magic of King Bennie is that he has it all. He's up on that top rung of steel guitar playing with Sol Hoopii, but he also has that Vaudeville quality of being an excellent entertainer. His music is so much fun! This is music for your whole body. I think it's impossible to listen to this disc and not be tapping and grooving along with it almost the entire time.

The U.S.A. lost something when the television became the standard of entertainment (at least for many people). King Bennie had something that you don't often find anymore. Today a musician is serious, or they are fun. They are a virtuoso, or they are a folky or a rocker. Or maybe they don't even play anything at all and everything is slick production. The boxes and parameters for any "one" performer oftentimes seem to be smaller today, but not so for Bennie. He may play a slow, touching blues, or he may play the goofiest, funniest, stupid little song and pluck out a gorgeous little solo right in the middle of it. He may play a lonesome old hula, or some Vaudeville shtick with an obnoxious, laughing kazoo solo wailing away. If King Bennie was a tv show, he'd be a sitcom one minute, a drama the next, and still have time to play a gorgeous, melodic solo that hits you like your favorite Roots or Lonesome Dove-quality miniseries.

I think the comparisons to Django are unfortunate, for both Bennie and Django. It strikes me as being made for no other reason than they were both guitarists who recorded before WWII, because that is where the similarities end. Yes Django often played faster, but Bennie was a more melodic player. There is no comparision to be made in terms of tone, and Bennie was a fantastic slide player so that is a whole other dimension right there. If you are dead-set on wanting some sort of King Bennie and a straight string-swinger comparison, the only apt comparision I'd say is to Oscar Aleman. Not because they play similarly, but because they both obviously had so much fun. There is certainly more of a sense of unabashed enjoyment coming from the musics of Oscar and Bennie than there is from Django's music. I'm not taking anything away from Django, I'm just saying that his music generally sounds as if he took himself so seriously that "fun" was beneath him, musically speaking. Beyond that, Bennie pre-dates both of them. He was truly a brilliant musician.

Bottomline: Take this music for what it is. Fantastic Vaudevillized string-swinging hula-blues played by one of the best steel guitarists of all time (that I know of so far).

great music.......2003-09-16

King Bennie Nawahi was a true talent who is barely even remembered today, which is a shame, 'cause this music is so sweet sounding you gotta love it! If you like this kind of music, you should also get the CD "Acoustic Slide Guitar Volume Three-Acoustic Hawaiian Guitar Masters", which features great Hawaiian acoustic guitar, both old and relatively new. I also recommend anything by Sol Hoopii and Roy Smeck, two other guitar (and ukelele) masters of this genre from way back when.

Wish I could give this more stars... :-).......2002-11-13

An outstanding collection of rare old 78s featuring this jazz-oriented hotshot picker from Honolulu. As a young man, Nawahi hit the mainland vaudeville circuit, and became one of the most celebrated Hawaiian instrumentalists of the 1920s, initially billed as the "king of the ukulele" (hence the lifelong nickname). Here he is heard in a variety of settings, performing with his own band on famous numbers such as "Tickling The Strings" and "My Girl Of The South Sea Isles", and with various jazzy stringband combos. This album was put together from the collections of several members (and associates) of the Cheap Suit Serenaders, so it's no surprise to hear Nawahi's version of "Singin' In The Bathtub", which the Serenaders covered in the early 1970s. There are plenty of other great novelty tunes, some traditional Hawaiian songs, and even some country material with Nawahi plinking out sweet accompaniment. This album is especially nice for how well it presents Nawahi's personal style, assembling his material as a cohesive whole rather than as a few dazzling gems on a Hawaiian compilation, as it's usually heard. Great stuff, highly recommended!

Disappointing.......2002-06-08

I was really looking forward to hearing this album as I am a big Django Reinhardt fan. I was told that Nawahi's music was like 'Django meets Hawaii' and it is. But, Nawahi's pickin', although quaint and pretty in places, is nowhere nearly as moving or as beautiful as Django's. If you don't own any Django, get him first. You won't regret it.

amazing cd ..........2001-06-21

Abouth the King Ben Nawah CD. As a record collector. I must admit I've never before heard the name King Bennie Nawahi, BUT NOW I REALLY HAVE!. Of all the five stars avaiable, I would give this one six ... It proves once again that in the jazz and western swing area of the 20's and 30's you hardly can go wrong at all. I recomend this to guitar lovers everywhere, a real kicker !

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