Singer-Songwriter LP Returns to the Spotlight with Ukulele
With "Forever For Now," LP returned with her first full-length album since 2004’s "Suburban Sprawl & Alcohol," this time around with a ukulele and a more upbeat attitude.
Heidi Swedberg: From ‘Seinfeld’ to Uke Clinician
By David Templeton // From the Spring 2014 issue “There goes Ken Middleton,” says musician Heidi Swedberg—of Heidi Swedberg and the Sukie Jump Band—pointing through the window into a bustling downtown bakery in St. Helena, in rural Northern California. Out…
Jake Shimabukuro Reaches Children Through New Foundation
Shimabukuro spreads the ukulele gospel through his new Four Strings Foundation By David Knowles In today’s ukulele universe there’s no star as bright as Jake Shimabukuro. The Hawaiian-born virtuoso is not only considered the Jimi Hendrix of the uke, he’s…
How Jason Mraz’s ‘I’m Yours’ Became an Instant Uke Classic
It’s hard to know exactly how many teens have learned Jason Mraz’s smash hit “I’m Yours” on the ukulele over the past decade, but the number is surely in the millions. Judging from the rash of “I’m Yours” YouTube covers,…
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Ukulele Video for today. Happy Uke Monday!
Abe Lagrimas Jr’s album ‘Rhythm & Uke’
Abe’s Rhythm Multi-instrumentalist Abe Lagrimas Jr. uses his extensive jazz training to weave complex rhythms into lounge-style instrumentals that draw from Hawaiian, folk, and contemporary music. Playing both ukulele and drums, Lagrimas is accompanied by Hamilton Price on bass, but—as…
Miles Schon Catches the Ukulele Wave
Playing ukulele changed the way I hear music Miles Schon explores the uke’s possibilities © Deidre Neville Singer-songwriter Miles Schon started playing guitar at age 13, but it took him nearly another decade to pick up a ukulele—and even…
Gods of Uke: How Arthur Godfrey Helped Spark the 1950s Uke Craze
By Karen Peterson For those of a certain age, somewhere in the memory banks is the image of a smiling, freckle-faced, red-headed guy—not the marionette Howdy Doody—wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt and plucking a ukulele. It was Arthur Godfrey, and…
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The Spark that Started the First Ukulele Craze in 1915
The runaway hit of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition came from a lei-bedecked ukulele quintet playing in the middle of the Hawaiian Pavilion.
Winter NAMM 2015: Alvarez Launches New Uke Line
This year, the Alvarez brand is celebrating its 50th anniversary. While best known for its guitars, the company has just launched the intriguing new Artist series of ukuleles, which will feature solid soundboards, herringbone purfling, fan bracing, and a variety of…