Search - Sonny Chillingworth :: Sonny Solo: Hawaiian

Chillingworth is arguably the most eclectic and most resourceful of the slack-key kings. He cites Portuguese, Puerto Rican, and Mexican influences, as well as those of country, blues, ragtime, and jazz. Over an ever-changing bass line, his intricate melodies and improvisations seem to hang in the air, even as the next line is being played. And his voice, particularly his falsetto, bends and sways and snaps back into place like a centuries-old palm tree in the tropical breeze. This is what the Hawaiians call "chicken-skin" music, the phrase referring to what mainlanders dub "goose bumps." --John Morthland