HAWAIIAN KEALI’I BLAISDELL BORN– SLACK KEY GUITARIST, ATTORNEY & ACTIVIST
Born in Honolulu and descended from Laeanuikaumanamana, the High Priest of Liloa, E. Keali’i-kaleo-o-laeanuikaumanamana VIII Aken started playing the ukulele at age 5. At 8, his father taught him guitar and by 23, he learned slack key guitar. Keali’i earned the respect of artists such as Ledward Ka’apana, Roland Cazimero, Darlene Ahuna, Ku’uipo Kumukahi, Nohelani Cypriano, Sean Na’auao, Dennis Pavao, Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo’ole, and legendary Grammy Award winning Cyril Pahinui. Pahinui and Rev. Dennis Kamakahi both have classified Keali’i as one of Hawaii’s most gifted and talented artists because of his ability of playing in the slack-key style, or Ki Ho’alu, singing, and his writing of original haku mele’s. Kamakahi supported Keali’i’s view that saving traditional Hawaiian music requires introducing new things. In 1999, he was nominated for a Hoku Award as “Most Promising Artist” for Ka Ulu Mae’ole.
Source: “Keali’i Blaisdell,” Last.fm. Retrieved 7/6/2019, https://www.last.fm/music/Keali%60i+Blaisdell/+wiki Clip Art: Courtesy of Public Domain Vectors Clip Art. Black acoustic guitar | Public domain vectors
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