Jim "Kimo" West (Hawai’i / USA)
Guitarist Jim “Kimo” West arrived in Hana, onthe island of Maui, in 1985, and there he first heard the slack-key guitar of Gabby Pahinui, Sonny Chillingworth, Atta Isaacs, and the Sons of Hawaii. Already at home with alternate tunings, he made the style part of his musical foundation and has since shared stages with many of its leading players. He won a Grammy for More Guitar Stories (2020), part of a series exploring West African, Middle Eastern, and Americana styles, and was nominated for Moku Maluhia: Peaceful Island (2018). He has also played guitar for decades with “Weird Al” Yankovic, on albums that have won five Grammys.
Featured Song:
“Sleigh Ride” was composed by Leroy Anderson, who began sketching it during a heat wave in July 1946 and finished it in 1948. Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra introduced and recorded it, and its orchestral sound effects, from clip-clopping hooves and a cracking whip to a trumpet imitating a horse’s whinny, made it a holiday staple. Mitchell Parish added lyrics in 1950. Far from any snowy country road, West moves the tune to slack-key guitar, or ki ho’alu, the Hawaiian style in which loosened strings are tuned to an open chord, letting the bouncing melody ring out warm and unhurried.
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