Ernest Kaʻai (1881–1962) was considered by many to have been the
[ The Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum] foremost ukulele authority of his time and is noted by some as being "Hawaii's Greatest Ukulele Player". Kaʻai, who was born in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, was said to have been the first musician to play a complete melody with chords. He was the son of
Simon Kaloa Kaʻai
Simon Kaloa Kaʻai (died March 22, 1884) was a politician who served many political posts in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He served multiple terms as a legislator from the island of Hawaii (island), Hawaii, Ministry of Finance (Hawaii), Minister of Fin ...
, a prominent politician during the
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...
.
Career
A musical director at many Honolulu hotels, Kaʻai hired
Johnny Noble in 1917.
[ Square One]
He was a multi-talented empresario who was also a live performer and teacher, as well as a talent organizer and booking agent, composer and music publisher, and author of instructional manuals. He was the first Hawaiian to copyright his music. At one point Ka'ai had as many as 12 different bands performing on the islands.
From 1927 to 1937, Ka'ia toured extensively through Asia introducing his teaching methods and making recordings while in Japan.
[
Kaʻai ran the Kaʻai Ukulele Manufacturing Company,][ NALU Music] which he sold in 1917 and bought shares in the Aloha Ukulele Manufacturing Co.
In 1923, Kaʻai touredAustralia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. He planned to open a "Hawaiian Village" in Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, but the Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
changed his plans and he returned to Hawaii in 1937.[
By 1941, Kaʻai was living in ]Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
where he opened a music store, taught and performed occasionally. The National Guitar Convention in Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
on August 13–15, 1944,Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
Celebration. The ''Miami News'' of May 29, 1949,
Death
Ernest Kaleihoku Kaʻai died in Miami on September 26, 1962.
Sheet music and instructional books published by Ernest Kaʻai
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaai, Ernest
Native Hawaiian musicians
Hawaiian ukulele players
American mandolinists
1881 births
1961 deaths
Guitarists from Hawaii
American male guitarists
20th-century guitarists
20th-century American male musicians