Popularly known as "Uncle K," he was widely regarded in the late 1950s, for his "swing-jazz" style of Hawaiian music.  The Kahau’anu Lake Trio was prominently seen in Waikiki for over 40 years in such venues as the Halekulani's House Without a Key, the Royal Hawaiian Surf Room and the Kaimana Beach Hotel.

The first group to feature the ukulele as the lead instrument, Uncle K's left hand style of playing and his unique strumming/plucking made him a master virtuoso of the ukulele.

Lake's collaboration with kumu hula Maiki Aiu Lake, who married Kahauanu in 1972, created signature pieces such as Pua `Ahihi, Pua Lililehua and the hapa-haole classic Maile Lei. Together they inspired a new generation of hula practitioners as well as  musicians.

Uncle K, was one of the founders of the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame and Saint Louis School's Hui Na Opi'o (before he turned it over to his cousin Keola Lake). He shared his musical talents and helped launch the careers of other Hawaiian artists such as George Helm in the early 1970s. Today, Lake's music continues to inspire hula dancers and musicians with his group's recordings.

In 2005, the group came together for the last time in a concert at Honolulu Hale and was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame. Then Mayor Mufi Hannemann described the group as follows: "No other group in the history of Hawaiian music has endured the test of time; as the music of the Kahauanu Lake Trio is ageless and still very much in demand in Hawai'i and all over the world."