Daniel Ho (born March 5, 1968) is an American musician, composer and producer specializing in innovative approaches to

Slack-key guitar Slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian ''kī hōalu'', which means "loosen the uningkey") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii after Portuguese cowboys introduced Spanish guitars there in the late 19th century. The Hawaiia ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, and Hawaiian music. He has recorded 18 solo albums, some of which have won or were nominated for Grammy Awards, and has produced over 50 albums.

Biography

Of Chinese heritage, Ho was born in

Kaimuki Kaimukī is a residential neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. History In the 19th century the area was a farm of King Kalākaua, where ostriches roamed wild over the mountain side. It later became the site of a carnation farm f ...

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O ...

, and currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. He attended the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles, where he studied composition before returning home to attend the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. After graduation, Daniel returned to Los Angeles and formed a

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the ...

group named Kilauea. In the late 1990s, Ho started his own record company, Daniel Ho Creations (DHC), and recorded one of his first Hawaiian music albums with

slack-key guitar Slack-key guitar (from Hawaiian ''kī hōalu'', which means "loosen the uningkey") is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii after Portuguese cowboys introduced Spanish guitars there in the late 19th century. The Hawaiia ...

ist George Kahumoku, Jr. He has since recorded 18 solo albums, produced over 50 albums, served as a guest lecturer at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

, performed as a soloist with the Honolulu Symphony, and received four Grammy Awards for Best Hawaiian Music Album as a producer. In 2009, he won his first Grammy Award for Best Hawaiian music album as an artist rather than as the producer of a compilation album, teaming up with

Tia Carrere Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo (born January 2, 1967), known professionally as Tia Carrere (), is an American actress, singer and former model who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera '' General Hospital''. Carrere played C ...

for the album ''Ikena.'' The DHC label has also received three Grammy nominations for ''Hawaiiana'', ''He Nani'', and ''Spirit of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar'', three

Na Hoku Hanohano Awards The Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, occasionally called the Nā Hōkū Awards or Hoku Awards, are the premier music awards in Hawaii.Berger, John"A night of Na Hoku Hanohano" ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''. May 22, 2011.Haug, Kawehi"Hoku awardees shine ...

and several nominations, including the 2009 release ''Aloha Pumehana'' by Darlene Ahuna. In 2008 Ho appeared in and recorded several tracks for the film '' Forgetting Sarah Marshall'', under the pseudonym the Coconutz. He sang on three tracks that are remakes of 20th century pop hits, translated into Hawaiian, " Nothing Compares 2 U", "

Everybody Hurts "Everybody Hurts" is a song by American rock band R.E.M. from their eighth studio album, '' Automatic for the People'' (1992), and released as a single in April 1993. It peaked at number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached the top ...

", and "

These Boots Are Made for Walkin' "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. Su ...

". In 2014 Ho was featured on the March/April cover of '' Making Music''.

References

External links

*
'Ukulele tabs
for Daniel Ho's songs
Daniel Ho Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ho, Daniel Musicians from Hawaii Guitarists from Los Angeles Hawaiian ukulele players 1968 births Living people University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Grammy Award winners Na Hoku Hanohano Award winners American musicians of Chinese descent Hawaii people of Chinese descent 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians