These recordings are released on George's label, Dancing Cat Records. With the help of Honolulu writer Jay Junker, he wrote down a brief description and other interesting information about this musical tradition. The Hawaiian slack key guitar tradition has totally inspired George Winston since he first heard the recordings of Gabby Pahinui and Keola Beamer in the early 1970s. Soon after, he heard Leonard Kwan , Sonny Chillingworth , Ray Kane , Atta Isaacs, Ledward Kaapana and others. I realized right away that my priority was to help make this tradition better known.
Slack key is an enchantingly melodic finger-picking guitar tradition.
Also know as ki ho'alu in the Hawaiian language, it is based in traditional Hawaiian music with subtle influences of Mexican, Spanish, Portuguese, American, and European music. Although the better-known Hawaiian steel guitar, which was invented in the 1880s, became a successful commercial product and spread throughout the world, slack key has until recently remained a folk tradition performed primarily in backyards and at house parties. Because slack key was infrequently brought into the studio before the 1970s, few recordings of the oldest styles exist. Most of the recordings that have been made since the 1970s have tended to feature slack key as part of a back-up band, usually with bass, 'ukulele, rhythm guitar in standard tuning and steel guitar. George is focusing on documenting the seldom-recorded pure slack key sound by recording the artists mainly solo.