James Hill -- Not your grandma's uke player!

Here are two clips of James Hill at last week's Ukefest Midwest in Indianapolis, IN. I wasn't there, but a guy I know was, and has posted these clips of "Summertime," and "Flight Of The Bumblebee."

http://homepage.mac.com/rmitlyng1/Midwest-UkeFest/iMovieTheater80.html

YOWZA!!!

I believe he is in A-D-F#-B tuning, in case you want to work them out to play yourself.

:)

I got to see him last year at the Uke Fest West and guess what...

...ok I'll tell you....

He'll be at the Slack Key and Uke festival on the Big Island this coming Friday night and I have plans to be there.

Yo -

Yeah, James is a great player and really just a very down-to-earth guy. So far we've only been able to hang when we're both down in Honolulu. First time I met him, I took him to lunch at Kaka'ako Kitchen (yum) and he told me about a jam session he did with Byron Yasui and Benny Chong. Then I went to go see him do two solo sets at the KHPR-FM studio ... man, that guy can really captivate an audience. For one thing (as almost all touring uke players must do), he makes all of his own arrangements -- but his approach and sound is very different, you can hear his formal training as a violist/classical string player right off the bat. Secondly, he chooses tunes that are familiar to a wide range of audiences; not being a jazz player, he doesn't choose a ton of jazz standards, but he also doesn't water tunes down just because it's being done on ukulele. We haven't had the chance to jam yet, but hopefully it's not too far away. Last time we wen talk story over pancakes (also yum)!

In my mind (and humble opinion), James is on a very short list of young musician-entrepreneurs that really bring something different to the table.

For sure, you all should see him perform if he comes to your city. And tell him I said hello!!

-Randy