Imua Garza is a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nominated producer, vocalist, musician, recording engineer and composer. His first official professional music release was around the age of 11. He then went on to record and perform with the ukulele group
Opihi Pickers.
Imua Garza's interest in music began at the young age of nine when he began playing the piano and taking music lessons. Soon he was playing several instruments including th
'ukulele guitar, violin, and the electric bass. Early in his career, he placed second in the local music competition Keiki Stars and was voted one of seven acts considered "Producers Best". Imua first appeared on a professionally released compact disc at eleven when his version of "On Fire" was included on the Hidden Treasures - Ukulele Stylings 2 CD released in 1996 featuring Hawaii's most promising ukulele players.
At about this time Imua began playing in his first music group, Opihi Pickers, with his brother and cousin. The Opihi Pickers' first CD, Fresh Off the Rocks, was released in 1998. From these recordings and early live performances his reputation as a ukulele virtuoso soon grew around the islands. Since then, Imua has become an accomplished producer, recording studio engineer and musical arranger appearing on over a dozen CD's including four from the Opihi Pickers, several various artist projects and a solo instrumental project featuring the ukulele called Dreamspeaking, released in 2003. Touring throughout Hawai`i and Japan, he has also done work on a movie soundtrack and for commercials for radio and television.
In 2019 Garza was nominated for his first
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
for a record titled "Hawaiian Lullaby" released by Haku Records in the
Best Regional Roots Music Album category at the
62nd Annual Grammy Awards
The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...
. Garza has worked with many musical artists including
Grammy winner Kalani Pe'a Kalani may refer to:
* Kalani (name), list of people with the name
* Kalani (percussionist) or Kalani Das, American percussionist, clinician, performer, author, and educator
* Kalani (''Star Wars''), a Separatist tactical droid in the ''Star Wars ...
,
Jack Johnson (musician),
Jake Shimabukuro
Jake Shimabukuro (born November 3, 1976) is a Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso and composer known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has writt ...
,
Katchafire
Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand.
History
Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Katchafire keeping NZ reggae scene ...
,
Kimie and many others.
References
Musicians from Hawaii
Hawaiian ukulele players
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
{{Hawaii-stub