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This Johnny Almeida classic celebrates Maui’s official flower, the lokelani, or rose.
The song is said to have been inspired by a lei given to a woman friend. It speaks in typically poetic language of the author’s desire to sip the delicious waters of ʻIao Valley on Maui.
I play this as a steel string solo in an F Wahine tuning, which is sometimes referred to as “Leonard’s F” because the first recordings in this tuning were made by slack key master Leonard Kwan. Leonard was a wonderful guitarist and a great human being. He always kept us laughing in the studio talking about his piece “ʻOpihi Moemoe”, the sleeping limpet – perennially glued to the rocks of Oʻahu’s shoreline.
After you have finished this piece, go on to Manu Kai (Sea Bird).
Keola Beamer