No doubt many of you have come across one or more of the fabulous videos put out by an organization called Playing for Change, in which musicians from all over the world collaborate in real time performing a popular song,…
By Laurence Vittes As with most top-tier ukulele players Jake Shimabukuro is a very busy guy. From now through February 2020 he’ll be playing concerts with his trio in more than 30 cities, featuring both original tracks and takes on…
By Jim D’Ville When I was growing up, I wanted to be on the radio. My first break came in high school when I was on the staff of Fort Bragg High’s Timberwolf Radio. We were allotted 15 minutes every…
By Laurence Vittes Turns out Les Tussing, a 71-year-old retiree with an interesting ukulele habit, is based in Folsom, California, where Johnny Cash once sang at the prison, and is now rated as among the most attractive of Sacramento’s suburbs.…
Advertisement
BY LAURENCE VITTES In addition to playing the ukulele from his youth, George Hinchliffe has played Hammond Organ in a soul band, electric viola in a free jazz group, electric mandolin in wedding band, and worked briefly with Michael Nyman,…
by Jim D’Ville Sure he had those boyish good looks—the impish smile, wire-rim glasses, and floppy hat. But it was his extensive use of the IV chord in his music which commanded us to turn over our hearts to him.…
BY SANDOR NAGYSZALANCZY | FROM THE FALL 2019 ISSUE UKULELE MAGAZINE In the past few years that I’ve been writing the Great Ukes column, folks have asked me what exactly constitutes a “great” uke? Does it have to be fancy,…
Advertisement
By Jim D’Ville In the Fall 2019 issue of Ukulele, Grammy award-winning musician Cathy Fink presents a wonderful lesson extolling the virtues of incorporating a metronome into one’s daily practice regimen. She’s right! The metronome is the one true musical…
One of the enduring truths about the ukulele is that it’s an accessible instrument. Its four little strings match up nicely with a player’s four fretting hand fingers and it is relatively easy to play. Even on someone’s first day…