Cyril Pahinui

Cyril Lani Pahinui (April 21, 1950 – November 17, 2018) was a Hawaiian slack-key guitarist (kī hōʻalu) and singer, and a son of the pioneering guitarist Gabby Pahinui. Born in Waimānalo on the island of Oʻahu, he began on ʻukulele around age seven and learned guitar in part by watching his father play with musicians such as Leland Isaacs Sr. and Sonny Chillingworth. He made his first recording as a young man with the group The Sunday Manoa in 1968.

Pahinui performed on his father's early-1970s recordings and played in several groups over his career, including the Sandwich Isle Band and the Peter Moon Band. He recorded on more than 35 Hawaiian releases, among them 6 & 12 String Slack Key (1994) for the Dancing Cat label and Heʻeia (2007). He was known for his command of numerous slack-key tunings, his six- and twelve-string technique, and a distinctive emotive voice.

He received multiple Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, including Instrumental Album of the Year (1994) and Island Music Album of the Year (2007), and a Nā Hōkū Hanohano / Hawaiʻi Academy of Recording Arts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. He contributed to three Grammy Award–winning Hawaiian-music compilations and earned a solo Grammy nomination for Heʻeia. In 2017 he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He also taught and directed community music programs and hosted the annual Gabby Pahinui Waimānalo Kanikapila.