UKE SCENE: New Mexico
By Heidi Swedberg / This article appeared in the Spring 2017 issue What we call the beginning is often the end And to make an end is to make a beginning. (T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding” from “The Four Quartets”) A…
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The 2017 Reno Ukulele Festival: Bet On It!
By Jim D’Ville / Photos by Kelly Anderson The 9th Annual Reno Ukulele Festival, “the biggest little ukulele festival in the West,” was held at the Nugget Hotel and Casino in Sparks, Nevada, April 6-9, 2017. As always, producer Doug…
Corey Fujimoto Plays Bach on the Ukulele
By Greg Olwell In celebration of Bach’s birthday (Happy 332nd, Johann Sebastian!), we’d like to share this wonderful ukulele performance of one of the composer’s most-beloved pieces. Corey Fujimoto performs the fourth movement of Bach’s Violin Sonata No.1 (BWV 1001),…
Great Ukes: The Birth of The Baritone
From the Spring 2016 issue of Ukulele | BY SANDOR NAGYSZALANCZY Quick quiz: Among the four common sizes of ukuleles—soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone—which one is tuned differently? Answer: the baritone. While the first three are tuned in standard “C”…
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Ukulele Travel Tips from Taimane [VIDEO]
By Greg Olwell Spring break, summer vacation, work trip, it doesn’t really matter when or where you’re taking your ukulele, but if you are traveling with it, take a few tips from Taimane Gardner. As a regular performer, she knows…
D’Addario Introduces Felt Ukulele Picks
By Greg Olwell D’Addario introduces the Ukulele Felt Pick, its first ukulele pick. These stiff felt picks combine the tone-softening effect of felt with a stiff center to make picking easy and warm. D’Addario also adds an elliptical cutout, which…
Checking Out Two of George Formby’s Favorite Ukuleles
By Greg Olwell To many banjo-ukulele enthusiasts, the late British entertainer George Formby is the king who sits on throne. Multi-instrumentalist Andy Eastwood is one of the biggest banner-bearers of Formby’s legacy and he’s one of the people to check-in…
Winter Getaway to the 2017 Palm Strings Ukulele Festival
By Jim D’Ville Let’s see … who wants to head south to Palm Springs in late February, relax by the pool, and play some ukulele? I DO! And I did! The 3rd Annual Palm Strings Ukulele Festival was held February…
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Gods of Uke: The Influence of Ukulele-Jazz Pioneer Lyle Ritz, 1930–2017
Jazz ukulele pioneer Lyle Ritz’s 2 albums for Verve, How About Uke? (1958) and 50th State Jazz (1959), were hugely influential among a generation of Hawaiian ukulele players.
The Birth of the Aloha Shirt
Who originated the aloha shirt? This is a topic that comes up frequently among lovers of all things Hawaiian, and like most popular inventions, it is claimed by many.