After teenage stints with bands like Red Session, Palolo Jones, and work with Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzman, Hawai'i rocker Stephen Inglis left the Islands for San Francisco in 2003 to explore his musical horizons. He produced two albums, Fringes on the Wayside and Driftwood.

Inglis, a native of Pālolo, then returned home and began exploring his roots, hooking up with slack key master Ozzie Kotani and honing his skills at kī hō'alu, or slack key, guitar. The result is an album of slack key classics released last October titled Mahina O Wai'alae.

All 15 tracks on this album are taken from the songbook of local standards and will be instantly recognized by traditional Hawaiian music fans.

Pālolo native Stephen Inglis learned kī hō'alu under Ozzie Kotani, who shares guitar credits on Mahina O Wai'alae. – Photos: Courtesy of www.steveninglis.com

The album starts off with an instrumental version of No Ke Ano Ahiahi, but the tracks that follow all feature Inglis on guitar and vocal. Kotani adds guest guitar work throughout. Track 2, Make'e 'Ailana, is followed by the title track, Mahina O Wai'alae, then Pua Līlīlehua. All of the tracks seem to be of similar tempo and range, providing a very even, somewhat hypnotic sound.

One exception is Pālolo, which is by nature a little more upbeat than the rest of the songs. Another upbeat track, Hanohano Hawai'i, is one of this reviewer's favorites and is very well done by Inglis. It features a bit of ha'i singing with vocal breaks famous among performers like Auntie Genoa Keawe, Gabby Pahinui and Raiatea Helm.

Inglis' voice is a clear baritone which floats easily along with his slack key foundation. While the addition of heavy reverb on the cuts is sometimes distracting, Inglis' guitar work and vocals are clean, sensitive and soothing. The album plays somewhat like easy listening, which many current kī hō'alu artists seem to be trying to emulate.

This album is just right for enjoying at sunset on a lānai by the sea with a favorite beverage and good company at hand. Or even, as the title suggests, by moonlight in Wai'alae.