Kohala

acoustic

KOHALA KOHALA's music - an acoustic blend of island jazz - reflects the beauty of the landscape and culture found in the Kohala region on the Big Island where the acoustic guitar trio lives. Lead guitarist, GRAMMY® Award winning Charles Michael Brotman, is a classical guitarist who began playing contemporary jazz after completing graduate studies in music. Rupert Tripp Jr. and Charlie Recaido grew up in Hawaii playing island music with a finger picking style on steel string guitars. The combination of the trio's diverse musical influences creates their own distinct sound. GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Charles Michael Brotman resides in Hawaii where he has lived since 1976. He grew up on Mercer Island, Washington, his first introduction to formal music lessons was at age 8 as a violin student, at age 12 he discovered the guitar and performed with various bands throughout Washington State. He studied at the Cornish Institute and The Evergreen State College and received an M.A. degree in music from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he taught classical guitar for several years. Charles is the first recipient of the GRAMMY® Award for Best Hawaiian Music Album, and is internationally recognized for both his role as lead guitarist of KOHALA and as a composer. He is a multi Na Hoku Hanohano Award and a Hawaii Music Award winner. His recordings have reached #1 on the Billboard World Music Chart and several of his guitar recordings have charted in the top 10 on national r...