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. This style of guitar playing, which has been used for centuries, involves altering the standard ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

, and

Hawaiian music The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent par ...

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

Biography

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

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 for ...

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

, and currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He attended the

Grove School of Music Grove may refer to: * Grove (nature), a small group of trees Places England * Grove, Buckinghamshire, a village *Grove (ward), an electoral ward of Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council that existed from 1964 to 2002, and then was re ...

in Los Angeles, where he studied

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

before returning home to attend the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. After graduation, Daniel returned to Los Angeles, auditioned for and became a permanent member of

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

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

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

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, performed as a soloist with the

Honolulu Symphony The Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, formerly known as Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. It is the second oldest orchestra in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains. The orchestra now plays mainly at the Hawaii Theatre Center ...

, 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 and singer who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera ''General Hospital''. Carrere played Cassandra Wong i ...

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 ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller (in his feature directorial debut) and starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand. The film, which was written by Segel a ...

'', 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 "Nothing Compares 2 U" is a song written by the American musician Prince for his band the Family. It first appeared on their only album, '' The Family'' (1985). Its lyrics express the feelings of longing expressed by an abandoned lover. The I ...

", "

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 by Warner Bros. Records. It was written by the band and produced by them with ...

", 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. ...

". 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 Guitarists from Los Angeles Ukulele players from Hawaii 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