Hawai'ian slack key guitar (ki ho'alu) is one of the great acoustic guitar traditions of the world, relatively unknown outside Hawaii until recently. "Slack Key" means that some of the strings are slacked from standard tuning, with the bass, melody, and improvisation played at the same time, and is often played to accompany traditional dance or song. Many players use their own special tunings that often remain proprietary secrets.

Jim West first visited Hana, Maui in 1985, after a long summer on the road with parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic. As the sounds of Gabby Pahinui, the Sons of Hawai'i, The Sunday Manoa, and others, played on the turntable, he jammed along for fun and relaxation. Already a devotee of open tunings, he was immediately drawn to the gentle rhythms of ki ho'alu (slack key guitar) and soon began writing his own songs. The rich physical and cultural landscape of the Hana Coast provided the inspiration for many of these compositions.

While borrowing heavily from the essence of traditional slack key, Jim West brings much of his own musical heritage to this collection of contemporary ki ho'alu instrumentals.

Jim lives in Los Angeles where he writes and produces music for film and television. His slack key compositions have been featured in several Honda TV spots as well as the Disney Channel TV movie "Rip Girls". He travels regularly to the islands to keep in touch with his Hawaiian 'roots'.

RealAudio samples
Selections from Jim's 13-track CD

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