Album Liner Notes

1. Urban Ukulele

This is the starting point for our journey thru the Urban landscape. The definitive statement in a completely new approach to the Ukulele, coming more akin to the inner city than the inner harbor. A driving beat, with some modern harmonic flourishes and a tricky melodic statement. See yourself out for a night on the town, dressed to the nines, with that special someone by your side.

2. Dance With The Sun

Get ready to create a lot of ‘conga line’ memories on this one. There is a tropical feel here, but you can also see hot, sultry, and glamorous scenes along the lines of South Beach, Venice Beach and the like.

3. Take It 2 The Bridge!

The operative question I had when writing this piece was, “Can a Ukulele get FUNKY?” The answer is a resounding YES! I spent a good portion of my formative years in the San Francisco Bay area, mostly in the East Bay (Berkeley and Oakland). Of course this is the stomping ground for the great funk/soul bands such as Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station, Cold Blood, and the great Tower of Power. Many tunes in this genre so aptly pioneered by the Godfather of SOUL, the late great James Brown, have a motif that builds and builds, just waiting to release the tension when the arrangement finally makes it “2 the Bridge” like a physical bridge over funky murky water, the musical bridge transports you to the other side and back down into the funk.

4. Black Beans And Rice

Of course, when it comes to most of our collective consciousness in regards to the Ukulele, we think of either Hawaiian music or Tiny Tim. If you dig a bit to the next level, you have wonderful new innovators, such as, Hawaiian native Jake Shimabukuro and Canadian master James Hill. But if you go ALL the way back, you will find that the Uke was originally a Portuguese instrument. This song celebrates the Uke’s ancestral beginnings.  Even has a little Brazilian Bossa Nova for you as well.

5. Swingin’ It On The Ritz

This was written in homage to the great Jazz Ukulele innovator Lyle Ritz. When he released ‘How About Uke’ in the late 1950’s, it was a huge step forward introducing the instrument to the be-bop, and swing jazz world.

6. I’ll Fly Away

is a traditional hymn written by Albert E. Brumley in 1929. It has been called the most recorded Gospel song ever.

7. Bach Cello Prelude No. 1

This piece is a much loved staple of all great cellists’ repertoires, but learning and arranging it for the Ukulele proved to be a daunting, yet satisfying task!

8. Miss You

This song has an undeniably catchy hook with and insistent groove to make you move. It was a Top 10 worldwide hit in 1978. Although it was not conceived as a ‘disco’ piece, it did quite well in that context.

9. Ukulele Shuffle

Here, a time to groove, boogie, and dance along with the shuffle! This is based on an extended Blues form. The shuffle rhythm is a cornerstone in a LOT of Blues and Rock music, and had a popular heyday in much of the Blues music from Chicago, such as, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, and many others. In shuffle rhythm, the first note in the pair is exactly twice the duration of the second note. In swing the division is inexact, and varies depending on factors such as how fast or slow the music is, on the genre of music, or the individual tastes of the performer, from almost equal (typically at fast tempos) to almost shuffle (typically at slow tempos).

10. Time To Say Goodbye

Also known as Timeless in Europe and more specifically Con Te Partirò originally made popular by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. My visual concept with this re-imagining of it was to think of the music first being played in an African village square with surrounding huts. This song starts with a native flutist and Ukulele with backed by a Shakere (African beaded gourd shaker percussion) player, and bowed bass. Then a full string ensemble joins in. Slowly more people come out of their huts and add in more and more indigenous native percussive instruments till it crescendos and culminates in a full on dance and music party to shows that music can be the ultimate cultural exchange and universal language!

11. Pike Place Market

This is my homage and tribute to Seattle’s iconic cultural and culinary landmark. People all over the world know the images of the flying fish, the amazing produce sold directly by the farmers, along with the stunning arts and crafts on display that’s sold by many artists. Some also know that the world’s first Starbucks coffee shop is still operating there as well. I have played the Pike Market Festival many times over the years, and also enjoyed just being there on a sunny afternoon selecting the best that the NW has to offer. It is always alive and vibrant!

12. Don’t Get Around Much

This is the chestnut and warhorse from the Duke Ellington songbook, done in a style that my friend (Canadian Ukulele virtuoso) James Hill would call “SO Ukulele!” One of the first tunes I learned on and arranged for Ukulele, this is a perfect intersection of Uke tradition and standard Jazz Guitar trio.

13. Buttered Soul

I wrote this to see if it was possible to play funk music in a 3/4 (or Waltz) time feel and signature. I transposed a 4/4 (or straight) funky drum rhythm against the meter of 3. It takes a while for everything to intersect, but it does meet up nicely in the end with a little dollop of buttery Ukulele SOUL on top!

14. Smile

This is the great melancholic piece from the pen of none other than the great silent film star Charlie Chaplin. As widely reported this was also Michael Jackson’s favorite tune, so it also serves as a tribute to wonderful entertainment we all received from MJ. In this unadorned solo reading, I am playing towards the emotional center of the lyrical content.

“Smile, though your heart is aching-Smile, even though it’s breaking-When there are clouds in the sky-You’ll get by…

If you smile

Through your fear and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You’ll find that life is still worthwhile

If you just smile…”

15. Smooth

Although he doesn’t play in a really Rock oriented style, my friend and worldwide number one Ukulele virtuoso, Jake Shimabukuro, has been dubbed the ‘Jimi Hendrix of the Ukulele’. I suppose it stems from the fact that when all is said and done, he will go down in history as a major innovator, and as influential on the Uke as Jimi was on the guitar. With that in mind, I decided with my love of Latin music and Bay Are roots, I would shoot for becoming the ‘Santana of the Ukulele’ and start by covering this great tune Rob Thomas composition Carlos Santana made famous on his huge pop come smash hit ‘Supernatural’. Once again my distorted Uke fills in for the Carlos guitar sound here!

16. Ala Moana

Anyone who has visited Honolulu Hawaii might be able to recall this main thoroughfare Ala Moana Boulevard, and also may be familiar with the largest shopping mall in Hawaii and the largest open-air mall in the world the Ala Moana Center. It also translates from the Hawaiian language to literally mean ‘Path To The Sea’. This is my nod to the Hawaiian culture and the artists, dancers, and other performers who have made me enjoy it so much!

17. Chai Latte’

I must be one of a small handful of Seattleites who don’t actually drink coffee! When a meeting is called at a coffee shop, in order to feel like I can be invited to sit at the grownup table, and to get MY buzz on, I order a Chai Latte!

18. Fields Of Gold

This lilting melodic tune by Gordon Sumner (aka Sting) provides the perfect close to the festivities. I first played it with trumpet great Michael ‘Patches’ Stewart, and had just learned it when I first started playing the Ukulele in Nevada. I played the harmonica sound heard here on my on souped up KALA Solid Acacia Ukulele connected by RMC pickups!