No. 27, Winter 2019
Some knew him as Ukulele Ike, others knew him as the voice of Jiminy Cricket and singer of “When You Wish Upon A Star,” but Cliff Edwards was an influential singer who also helped launch the first ukulele craze with his fabulous playing. In this extensive feature, Casey MacGill tells the tale of the ups and downs of Edwards’ extraordinary life. Includes a transcription of his influential recording of “Fascinating Rhythm.” Our special focus in on Uke in the UK, a look at some of the people, places, and groups making the UK ukulele scene red hot. Heidi Swedberg visits with the massive Grand Northern Ukulele Festival, the Southern Ukulele Store, and the London Ukulele Project, which was founded by Tara Maysey as part of a program to combat a UK health crisis: loneliness. The Ukulele Kids Club is helping children in hospitals and Jim D’Ville talks to the people driving their work. And, we debut a new series on ukulele builders with a profile on Tony Graziano, a maker based in Santa Cruz, California who has been making outstanding ukes for decades.
Plus, a gallery of ukulele love as seen on license plates, and the most complete ukulele events listings anywhere.
- Swing vs. Straight Rhythms, Daniel Ward teaches you the difference!
- Chord grips, a different way to look—and share—chord shapes, by Byron Yasui
- Where do chords come from? Jim D’Ville shows you
- Ibanez’s EW concert-size acoustic-electrics
- Klos’ carbon-fiber tenor review
- New strings from Ernie Ball
- Korg’s MiniPitch clip-on tuner
The high-flying vintage Aero Uke
Restoring a vintage Lyon & Healy ukulele and discovering its original tuning