One of the most interesting uke players I’ve come across in a while is Ukulele Lloyd. He’s featured in the new episode of Midnight Ukulele Disco– see him playing “Angels gave me roofies” in quicktime movie format

Another video I saw once, he looked exactly like Jimmy Falon. Odd.

Rock on, Ukulele Lloyd. Rock on.

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Been a good while since I posted an actual uke comic– enjoy!

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Jeff Solomon, a NY-area singer/songwriter who plays the piano and baritone ukulele when performing live, admires pop from afar. A quick glance at his musical background may not lead one to label him a pop kinda guy; he started on classical piano at age four like a good immigrant’s son (his parents are Romanian but
they had him in the States) and then studied the saxophone from grade school thru college, where he became an honors student in classical composition at Cornell under the guidance of recent Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Stucky. But he’s been working on his genre-hopping pop songs the whole time, even though the first five CDs he ever bought were Dixieland recordings and his two greatest idols are free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman and the fiery, young James Carter (both saxophonists). In fact, one of the songs chosen for his new record was written when he was just fifteen, way before he’d ever heard of Ben Folds, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Ben Kweller, Rufus Wainwright, Joe Jackson, or any of the other fine folks that he’s now finding himself compared to.

After spending a few post-college years working the coffeehouse circles and logging experiences as a session keyboardist/saxophonist/arranger, Jeff took a few months off to make “Around the Square,” his first independently released collection of songs. It is Jeff’s first collaboration with up-and-coming producer Andrew Felluss, a talented engineer who has worked extensively with vanguard producers such as Phil Ramone, Frank Filipetti and the Neptunes. Andrew’s engineering credits include projects with Paul Simon, DMX, Peter Cincotti, Mary J. Blige, and Ray Charles’s recent Grammy winner, “Genius Loves Company.”

Jeff, who is also a co-founder of the award-winning comedy group Elephant Larry, has performed at NY venues such as CBGB’s Gallery, Pianos and Luna Lounge for a steadily growing number of devoted fans. And he’d love for you to check out his new CD. - http://www.jeffsolomonmusic.com

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An interesting list of Jazz Uke arrangements in PDF, with some sample Mp3s and midi files, etc. LINK

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Oh, how that little bird in the Looney Tunes cartoon is stuck in my mind singing his little tune….. and now, thanks to Uke Boogaloo, we can sing and play along on our ukes. LINK TO CHORDS

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by way of Ukulele Boogaloo…

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Jack Johnson loves the ukulele. He once performed with Ed Vedder on SOON FORGET, one of my favorites. So it was no surprise to find UKE in some of his lyrics–

“But just maybe, hala ka ukulele
Mama made a baby
I really don’t mind the practice
Because you’re my little lady
Lady, lady love me
Because I love to lay here lazy
We could close the curtains ”

Find it in the song, Banana Pancakes, by Jack Johnson.

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from their site: “Bixby is the first band to utilize an ukulele within the context of mainstream acoustic rock-and-roll. Accompanied by a comprehensive band backbone (guitar, bass, drums, and piano/organ), a rich 3-part harmony, and one of the most versatile lead singers in years, if you don’t already know who Bixby is– you will soon.”

You can listen to four or five complete songs on their main page. Really neat ukulele picking throughout. Nice sound. BIXBY MUSIC

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Sven from Denmark writes to us:

“I’m (currently) living in Denmark and since I started playing the
ukulele, people always say “Oh, it’s like in that song ‘Flying’,
that’s world famous”. Well, I never heard of it, but it’s already 10
years old and a cute little song. I’ve found it as a free download
from their website. A very nice demo version, with a solo on
wineglasses! — LINK to SONG.”

Thanks for the tip Sven! Also, I’d like to point out he has some nice, album looking photos of him and his own uke on his site. Check it out here.

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Love those old ukulele photos….

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