The Range of the Ukulele

There are still those - not including we, of course - who when they think of the ukulele think only of Tiny Tim.  That's fine; but as you all know, there is much more to the ukulele.  If you weren't already aware of the range of the ukulele,  I thought I might let you know of at least three albums that represent much of the range of our ukuleles.

Legends of the Ukulele is a wonderful introduction to the power of the ukulele.  Most of the early masters of the ukulele appear on this album, which is available on iTunes.  One of my favorites is "Song for Anna" by the great Herb Ohta - a/k/a "Ohta-San" - having nothing to do with the fact that Anna is my favorite (and only) daughter.

And then there are all of Jake Shimabukuro's albums.  He's in a class by himself.  How fortunate were several of us who saw and heard him recently at the State Theater.  The hope is that he'll be back to perform with the Portland Symphony Orchestra because he became friends with Maestro Robert Moody during that visit.  You can follow Mr. Shimabukuro on FaceBook, as does fellow UU'er Terry Allen, who is now privileged to refer to Mr. Shimabukuro as "Jake".  We should all be so fortunate. 

And now stretch your ears and vision to Eddie Vedder (he of Pearl Jam) and his album Ukulele Songs.  Simply beautiful!  Also on iTunes.

Elvis Costello, long an aficionado of the ukulele,  is on currently on tour with his ukulele and guitars.  

I'll close with the comfort of understanding that one of George Harrison's most favorite instruments was - yes, you guessed it - the ukulele.

Onward!

"My Little Life" by  Korby Lenker on YouTube

You might get a smile from watching this YouTube video.  I found it in Ukulele Magazine which reports:

"It’s the perfect metaphor for ukulele living. Even before the March 25 re- lease of Korby Lenker’s eponymous CD, the sixth album on his own Stuffed Piranha Records, the single “My Little Life” had made a big splash. This catchy ode to simple living—the result of a successful Kick- Starter campaign and replete with a fun-loving video that features guest appearances by some of Nashville’s finest—had already earned the Nash- ville singer-songwriter top songwriting honors at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2012. Watch the video on YouTube and learn more at korbylenker.com." 

TEE SHIRTS ARE HERE!

The Urban Ukulele tees have been created, and I'll be picking them up tomorrow.  For those of you who have already ordered a tee, I'll have them for you at the beginning of our next gathering on Wednesday, the 30th.  You may recall that the cost is a ridiculously low $11.

Aloha, Urban Ukuleles!

Aloha!

Here it is - our very own Urban Ukuleles blog!

With the help of fellow UU'er Darcy and others, I'm getting this site up and running.  My hope is to be able to add materials to this site so you'll have everything in one place - video and audio clips, links to helpful websites, notices of our upcoming gatherings and other events, comments by UU'ers, our past What Nows? [the Archive page stores that information, and the What Now? page contains the current plan for what will be accomplishing during our upcoming gathering], and whatever else we think we might want to have here.

We can all add comments to this blog, and I encourage you to do so.  Working together, we can make this site the most helpful source of information for Urban Ukuleles.

Mahalo,
Ukule'Lee (me, Lee)