Biography

Consisting of twin brothers, Ledward and Nedward Kaapana (born: 1950), and their Portuguese-Hawaiian cousin, Dennis Pavao (born: 1952), Hui 'Ohana ("group of the family") is one of Hawaii's leading bands. Accompanying their falsetto harmonies with melodic slack-key guitar picking, the trio has taken their music from the rural Hawaiian village of Kalapana to the international stage for a quarter of a century. Although none of the three musicians received formal training, they mastered the lessons they learned from relatives and taught themselves. Hui 'Ohana's debut album, Young Hawai'i Plays Old Hawai'i, released in 1973, revealed their command of the island state's musical traditions. Their third album, Ke Kolu, released in 1974, was recorded with the Kaapanas' mother, Regina, and their sister, Tina. Six of the album's ten songs were written by their father, George. In 1988, Hui 'Ohana recorded an album, Hawaiian Style Guitars, with guitarist Jerry Byrd. In addition to their recordings with Hui 'Ohana, Led Kaapana and Dennis Pavao have recorded several solo albums on their own. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi