While Kapono Beamer has often been overshadowed by his more famous older brother Keola, he is an equally talented guitar player and musician. After the break up of the group The Beamer Brothers, Kapono released a series of award winning and fairly successful instrumental albums. Unlike Keola, however, Kapono remained largely out of the spotlight and appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, with a new album every three to five years."Slack Key Dreams of the Ponomoe" released in 2005 is Kapono's last album to date and was nominated for that years Hawaiian Music Grammy. Kapono plays nearly every instrument on the album, aside from drums (Noel Okimoto) and Bass (Dean Taba). The album expands on Kapono's instrumental prowess that he displayed on earlier albums like "Paradise Found" and "Pana Aloha" and he again creates excellent atmospheric sound-scapes. He also for the first time in a decade writes new lyric songs that harken back to his 1970s heyday. Kapono has never had a very strong or distinctive voice but he crafts songs that play up his vocal strengths. This is Kapono's most accessible album to date and also his most creative, it is soothing and innovative. This is the recommended album from his catalog and will surely please fans of modern slack key music. Here's hoping that Kapono will come out with a new album soon that expands on this ones excellence.
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