Always looking to further expand musical boundaries and possibilities, recording projects by six-time GRAMMY-winning artist and producer Daniel Ho span Hawaiian, world, classical, and contemporary instrumental music. His latest album, East West Players Presents: Daniel Ho & Friends Live in Concert is the convergence of many avenues he has explored during his thirty years as a musician.

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This is Ho’s twelfth GRAMMY Award nomination, and his third nomination in the World Music category, which was recently renamed Best Global Music Album.

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The album’s all-original repertoire spotlights the ʻukulele and includes some of Ho’s favorite pieces on piano and Hawaiian slack key guitar. The compositions date as far back as 1986, when Ho wrote “Pineapple Mango” as an assignment in music school for TV main titles. The goal was to write a catchy, one-minute melody, and that he did! This simple calypso-inspired three-chord song has taken on a life of its own, and is played by ‘ukulele enthusiasts all over the world. At the other end of the musical spectrum is “Nā Pana ‘Elua (The Two Heartbeats).”

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Ho explains, “In all my years as a composer and musician, Nā Pana ‘Elua (The Two Heartbeats) is the most rewarding and challenging piece I have ever recorded. It represents what I love most about this intriguing art form—the depth of rhythms, harmonies, and melodies—and the ability to explain the intent and function of every note.

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Nā Pana ‘Elua (The Two Heartbeats) is based on a magnificent Indian polyrhythm. The first rhythm is made up of ten-and-a-half quarter notes phrased in four beats, two beats, three beats, and one-and-a-half beats (4 + 2 + 3 + 1.5 = 10.5). The other, also an odd meter, is phrased in seven dotted quarter notes. I simultaneously play the ʻukulele melody in ten-and-a-half and the accompaniment in seven. The most exciting part about it is that these cycles meet up at every twenty-one beats (10.5 x 2 and 7 x 3)!

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.....Read Full Press Release.