Daniel Ho plays KoAloha ukuleles (pictured) and Yamaha guitars.

SAN JOSE — Daniel Ho will be the headliner at the second annual Spirit of Japantown festival, to be held Saturday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

He will perform at 2 p.m. on the entertainment stage, located near 4th and Jackson streets.

From his modest upbringing in Honolulu, Ho has learned to wear many hats over the years — musician, producer, singer/songwriter, arranger, composer, engineer, record company owner.

He has won three consecutive Grammy Awards as a producer and featured slack-key guitarist in the Best Hawaiian Music Album category.

Ho’s musical inclinations were apparent at an early age. His first instruments were organ and ukulele. He then graduated to classical guitar and piano, electric guitar, bass, drums, and eventually, voice.

His dreams and aspirations led him to study composing, arranging and film scoring at the Grove School of Music in Los Angeles. Shortly afterwards, he began his professional career as the leader, keyboardist, composer, and producer for Kilauea, a contemporary jazz group he formed in 1990. By 1997, Kilauea had released six chart-topping albums, two of which hit the Top 10 on Billboard’s jazz charts.

Longing for artistic freedom, Ho started an independent record label. His interests in photography and graphic design complemented the responsibilities of marketing and production.

In 1998, he launched Daniel Ho Creations. It began with solo piano and slack-key guitar recordings. Slowly, the releases grew into collaborative projects that featured Hawaiian hymns, hula, and ukulele. To date, the label has released over 50 acoustic and Hawaiian-themed CDs by many of the state's most respected artists.

In addition to the Grammys, Ho has received numerous Hawaiian music industry accolades, including three Na Hoku Hanohano awards and eight Hawaii Music Awards.

He is also an accomplished singer and songwriter who has performed as a soloist throughout the U.S., Tasmania, Germany, and Japan. He has been featured with the Honolulu Symphony; toured as a keyboardist and guitarist for Grammy-winning vocalist Peabo Bryson; guest-lectured at Stanford University; and authored instructional books on ukulele and slack key guitar.

Following is a brief Q&A with Ho conducted by the Hokubei Mainichi by e-mail:

Hokubei Mainichi: What pieces do you plan to play at Spirit of Japantown?

Daniel Ho: I haven't finalized the set list, but I will play a couple of songs from my "Skies of Blue" CD, "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Change the World," that will feature my good friend, (hula teacher) Luana Rivera Palacio, and her halau (school).

I'll also be peforming a few songs from my latest CD, "Sunny Spaces," including "Pineapple Mango," "Living in Paradise," "Some Breathing Space," and "No Apologies."

On Sept. 16, my new all original Hawaiian-language CD, " 'ikena," will be released. I'll probably play a song or two from it as well — like "The Spam Song."

HM: What personal/professional connections do you have with California, the Bay Area and particularly San Jose?

DH: In the early ’90s, I had a contemporary jazz group, Kilauea, that performed in the Bay Area quite often. We did KKSF listener parties in Mountain View and San Francisco, the San Jose Jazz Festival, Stern Grove, Villa Montalvo, Mountain Winery, Kimball's East. I also lived in Sunnyvale for about a year.

HM: There seems to be a "boom" in Hawaiian music across the country and around the world. To what do you attribute that, and what has your role been?

DH: Hawaiian musicians have been touring the mainland U.S. and Japan for many years. The use of Hawaiian music in feature films has certainly raised awareness of the genre. My small label, Daniel Ho Creations, focuses on music that has some tie to Hawaii. We do our best to produce the highest quality recordings possible and represent Hawaiian music respectfully.

HM: How often do you perform in Japan and what kind of reception have you gotten there?

DH: I go to Japan a few times a year. I love performing there because the audiences are great. They often come to a few performances in a tour and they know not only the artist but all the band members.
I love the food — tonkatsu, ramen, natto, okura, yamaimo, uni, ikura — the list is endless! And it is a beautiful, safe country full of tradition.

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For more information on the event, visit www.spiritofjapantownfestival.com.