Gods of Uke: The Influence of Ukulele-Jazz Pioneer Lyle Ritz, 1930–2017
Lyle Ritz was born January 10, 1930, and died March 3, 2017. He was 87.
From the Fall 2015 issue of Ukulele | BY JIM TRANQUADA
In 1950, while studying tuba at... Read More...
Gods of Uke
Learn to Play ‘Haele,’ a Hawaiian Ukulele Classic from Ernest Ka’ai
From the Spring 2017 issue of Ukulele | BY ADAM PERLMUTTEROur arrangement of "Haele" by Ernest Ka’ai, is presented as a companion to the Gods of Uke feature... Read More...
Gods of Uke: Ernest Ka’ai, a Pioneering Ukulele Virtuoso, Composer, and Author
From the Spring 2017 issue of Ukulele | BY ADAM PERLMUTTER
The 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco is generally regarded as the event... Read More...
Gods of Uke: Eddie Kamae reinvigorated Hawaiian Culture and Helped Make the Ukulele a Global Phenomenon
From the Winter 2015 issue of Ukulele // By Audrey Coleman
Eddie Kamae died at his home in Honolulu, Saturday, January 7, 2017. He was 89.When Sam Kamae to... Read More...
Gods of Uke: Ohta-San’s Cool Touch
From the Summer 2016 issue of Ukulele | BY AUDREY COLEMAN
The opening moments of “Stardust” come in leisurely phrases, as if the musician is pausing to reflect... Read More...
Gods of Uke: Roy Smeck Gives a Lesson to Remember
From the Fall 2014 issue of Ukulele | BY MARCY MARXER
A visionary player on the ukulele, guitar, tenor banjo, and lap-steel guitar, the vaudeville performer Roy... Read More...
Gods of Uke: ‘King’ Bennie Nawahi’s Lasting Legacy
From the Fall 2016 issue of Ukulele
BY EDDIE SCHER | PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT ARMSTRONG
Robert Armstrong, the source for much of Bennie's biographical infor... Read More...
Gods of Uke: Jesse Kalima (Includes Video)
By Marcy MarxerThis article originally appeared in the Fall 2013 issue.Many years ago a friend gave me a cassette tape of a bunch of old recordings of 78-rp... Read More...
Goddess of Uke: May Singhi Breen, The Ukulele Lady
BY AUDREY COLEMAN
In 1931 she took on the New York Musicians’ Union, threatening legal action if the organization would not include the ukulele in its list of ... Read More...
Gods of Uke: Remembering Bill Tapia
Bill Tapia influenced both the Golden Age of Ukulele and the uke revival
They called him “Uncle Bill,” or “Tappy,” but to many he was known as “The Duke of Uke... Read More...