In addition to being one of Hawaii's most renowned players of the ki ho`alu (a slack key guitar instrument), Ozzie Kotani is also a teacher, arranger, and composer. Born in 1956, Kotani was raised in Pauoa, a neighborhood of Honolulu, and discovered music when he picked up the ukulele while still in elementary school. It was during high school that Kotani's musical interest turned to the ki ho`alu, after he heard slack key guitar master Keola Beamer on the radio.