Posted on: Saturday, November 20, 2004 Musical aloha of Hawai'i continues to live on By Will Hoover Advertiser Staff Writer Daylen Horn, 13, of Waipi'o Gentry, strums along with master 'ukulele teacher Roy Sakuma at Sakuma's studio in 'Aiea. Daylen is one of 125 children who will get instruments from the 'Ukulele Guild of Hawai'i, in honor of the 125th anniversary of the introduction of the 'ukulele to Hawai'i from Portugal. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser Daylen Horn, 13, couldn't believe he'd soon be getting a free 'ukulele, complete with lessons — compliments of a bunch of devoted Hawai'i uke enthusiasts who are giving instruments to 125 local kids. "I was surprised when I found out," said Horn, who on Thursday met the man who may one day teach him — Roy Sakuma. Asked what famous 'ukulele player he'd most like to emulate, Daylen didn't hesitate. "Roy Sakuma," he responded. "Hey, usually they say Jake Shimabukuro," Sakuma said with a laugh after meeting Horn at his shop in 'Aiea. "Now I know I'm going to teach you." Sakuma told Daylen that when he was a child, many of Hawai'i's noted 'ukulele players took him under their wing and taught him their secrets. Now, he said, he was happy to return the favor by donating his time to the Ukes for Kids project, dedicated to promoting Hawai'i's celebrated "jumping flea," and to perpetuate its musical contribution to the Islands. Today, it's all about the uke The third annual 'Ukulele Exhibition and Conference's special 125th Anniversary Benefit Concert begins at 7 tonight at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel. The concert will present professional 'ukulele players and performers, including Auntie Genoa Keawe and the Side Order Band, John King, Byron Yasui, James Hill, Benny Chong and Lyle Ritz. Karen Keawehawai'i will be the emcee. Tickets are $15 at the door and can be purchased at the UGH Web site, http://www.ukuleleguild.org/. A free 'ukulele exhibition will be open throughout today at the hotel and features ukes, displays, vendors, and virtually anything associated with Hawai'i's most endearing musical instrument. Seminars running throughout the day focus on such 'ukulele aspects as instrument building techniques, music theory, picking methods and strumming secrets, and will be presented by such noted instructors and aficionados as Yasui, Ritz, Chong, Jim Beloff, Hiram Bell, Sam Au and others. Seminar passes are $35. Daylen, of Waipi'o Gentry, is one of 125 children who will be getting the instruments from the 'Ukulele Guild of Hawai'i, in honor of the 125th anniversary of the introduction of the 'ukulele to Hawai'i from Portugal. The guild is donating the instruments to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Honolulu to give away to boys and girls this year. Last night, Big Brothers Big Sisters kicked off Ukes for Kids by handing out the first 25 instruments as part of this weekend's third annual 'Ukulele Exhibition and Conference at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Hotel. It was in 1879 that Portuguese immigrants brought a small four-stringed instrument known as the braguinha to Hawai'i. Islanders soon fashioned their own version, which they dubbed the 'ukulele — which translates to jumping flea in Hawaiian. Almost immediately the 'ukulele became a symbol of Hawai'i's musical aloha and playfulness. It was an American fad during the 1920s, a household object throughout the 1950s, and recently it became a phenomenon again after local manufacturers could barely turn out enough high-end versions to meet a sudden worldwide demand. Music, ukes, kids and Waikiki — to much of the outside world, things don't get much more Hawai'i than that. But believe it or not, Ukes for Kids didn't originate here at all. It was imported from Santa Cruz, Calif. "You'd think we'd have been the first," said Amy Watari, who coordinated the Ukes for Kids project for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu. "Ukes for Kids was actually started with the 'Ukulele Club of Santa Cruz, California, in conjunction with the 'Ukulele Hall of Fame out of Rhode Island," said Mike "Ukeman" Chock, a full-time 'ukulele and guitar maker and founder of the 'Ukulele Guild of Hawai'i, or UGH, in 2001. The California Ukes for Kids program was created in cooperation with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz, and was part of Uke Fest West, a three-day 'ukulele festival there last April. Chock expressed amazement that someone beat Hawai'i to the punch on what he thinks should have been its own idea. But he said the Santa Cruz club was only too happy to share Ukes for Kids with the state for which the diminutive 'ukulele is famous. UGH decided to follow Santa Cruz's lead after some of its members attended Uke Fest West. "So that's how we got lucky enough to be a part of this," said Watari, who said Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu would target musical Little Brothers and Little Sisters on O'ahu who might otherwise not be able to afford an instrument. She said the recipients would be learning to play from well-known Island instructors, including Sakuma, Terry Brown and Kimo Hussey, who have offered to donate their time. Turns out the kids will learn on 'ukulele that were imported, too. "From China," said Chock. Made of mahogany and retailing for around $125 each, they are quality instruments, he said. And compared to locally made 'ukulele, which can retail from $400 and up, they were an affordable alternative for the local sponsors who paid for and donated them. One kid who had no objection was Daylen Horn, who picked up his 'ukulele at last night's UGH members banquet meeting at the Marriott Hotel. Daylen is confident he'll learn to play the instrument from one of the best. "Years ago, if someone played the 'ukulele and they were good, they would turn their back to you so you couldn't see how they did it," Sakuma told Daylen. "But the funny thing was they would say to me, 'Roy, come — I show you.' "Which was nice — because now I'm able to share their secrets with everybody." Reach Will Hoover at 525-8038 or at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com

Sunday, November 7, 2004

Children’s charity gets
gift of 125 ukuleles

Star-Bulletin staff

In celebration of the 125th anniversary of the ukulele's arrival in Hawaii from Portugal, the Ukulele Guild of Hawaii is donating 125 new ukes to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu and will provide free lessons.

This is the first year for the guild's "Ukes for Kids" project, but the group hopes to make it an annual event, said Sam Au, vice president of the guild.

Au said the goal is to promote the ukulele among youth, not only as an instrument of enjoyment but as a way to teach them about its history.

Free lessons will be given at various Big Brothers Big Sisters sites throughout the state by instructors Terry Brown, Roy Sakuma and Kimo Hussey, who are donating their time, he said.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a nonprofit organization that matches children with volunteer mentors to help them grow into responsible adults.

The first batch of 25 new instruments will be presented to some of the organization's children Nov. 19 during the annual Ukulele Exhibition and Conference at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Hotel.

A special 125th Anniversary Concert will be held Nov. 20, featuring world-class professional ukulele soloists. The public is invited to attend the ukulele workshops, mini concerts and exhibitions on the 19th as well as the next-day concert.

Karen Keawehawa'i will emcee the concert, which will feature Auntie Genoa Keawe and the Side Order Band, John King, Byron Yasui, James Hill, Benny Chong and Lyle Ritz.

Tickets are $15 for the concert, which may be purchased at the door or via the guild's Web site, www.ukuleleguild.org. Call 440-0646 or visit the Web site for more information.

Au said the popularity of the ukulele "is growing by leaps and bounds ... and the big makers, like Kamaka, can't keep up" with demand.

The 125 ukuleles were donated by various local businesses. Sponsors include Kamaka Hawaii, Hohner Music/Lanikai Ukulele's, RSI Roofing, Alii Flooring, Concrete Coring Company Hawaii, Mike Dasilva Ukulele's, Ukulele Supply of Hawaii, City Bank, Popeye's Chicken, Safety Systems/One Shot Supply, Island Air, Micro Finishing Systems, Pegasus Ukuleles and Guitars, Denis Gilbert and Donald Wickham of Ukulele Building Book, Innovative Constructors Hawaii, Darrel Chun and Miki Browne.

The Ukulele Guild has grown to 300 members worldwide since its inception in 2001.

Ukulele Guild of Hawaii
www.ukuleleguild.org

December 2004
By Heidi Chang

Roy Sakuma

Strum a ukulele, and almost everyone thinks immediately of Hawaii. But the world is starting to hear a very different sound from the traditional island instrument.

For decades, Roy Sakuma has been one of the musicians who¹s been trying to show that the ukulele can be more than background music or an accompaniment for hula. It can also be used to play jazz, pop, rock, standards and classical music. Still, the four-stringed instrument is most often associated with Hawaiian culture and hula, a connection that goes back more than century. "The ukulele turned out to be the perfect instrument," Mr. Sakuma explains, "because of the way that you strum it, the way that it brings across the feelings to enhance the emotions in dancing the hula." He got hooked on the ukulele as a child in Hawaii, and he now teaches others how to play it.

Jim Beloff

But the instrument so closely associated with America's Pacific paradise had its origin half a world away, along the shores of a different ocean. 125 years ago, Portuguese immigrants brought to Hawaii the forerunner of the ukulele, known as the machete -- pronounced "mah-SHET." It was soon given a new name. "Ukulele means, as many people in Hawaii know, jumping flea," says Jim Beloff, author of The Ukulele, A Visual History. "One of the interpretations is that when the Hawaiians first saw some of the players of this machete, they saw their fingers jumping up and down on the fret board, and they thought that it looked a little bit like jumping fleas."

Fingers have jumped across the ukulele in many styles since then…perhaps none more surprising than jazz. Lyle Ritz is known as "The Father of Jazz Ukulele." The Los Angeles-based artist introduced the style with a groundbreaking album in 1958, titled How About Uke? Music promoter Jim Beloff says it had a profound impact, especially in Hawaii. "That record kind of inspired a whole generation of players to think outside of the box," he says, "[to] think of the instrument as more than just an accompaniment instrument, but one that could tackle sophisticated jazz arrangements."

One of those players was Roy Sakuma, who remembers being captivated by the new sound. "All of us young kids who were playing the ukulele, we'd buy that record," he says, "and we would sit by the phonograph, play it over and over, and we would all try to learn 'Lulu's Back In Town.' We used to play just C, F, G7 back then. Then all of a sudden here comes Lyle with all these fantastic chord harmonies that just, you know, took music to a whole new level on the ukulele!"

Lyle Ritz

The man behind the new sound, Lyle Ritz, says he had no idea his album would catch the ear of so many folks in Hawaii. But he admits it did not take much for the instrument to catch his ear as a young man working in a music store. He still recalls the day a customer came in and asked to see a tenor ukulele. "It was really expensive, he says. "They cost $20!" He laughs at how times have changed. "I pulled one from the cabinet and, wow, I couldn't believe the wonderful sound and the way it felt. It was just love. It was just the right thing for me to play."

Lyle Ritz never made a living performing on the ukulele. Instead, he made a name for himself in Hollywood as a studio bass player, backing up artists like the Beach Boys and the Righteous Brothers on such pop hits as "Good Vibrations" and "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'." Now retired, Mr. Ritz is finally the featured performer, in demand for ukulele concerts and workshops, where he demonstrates the finer points of coaxing music from the tiny soundbox.

As an innovative new generation of players performs around the world, and as far-flung ukulele fans connect over the Internet, appreciation for the instrument and its versatility is growing. And, after nearly a half century, that revolutionary album How About Uke? is being reissued on CD. Lyle Ritz is surprised and pleased. "Verve [record label] decided," he says, "in view of the resurgence in the interest of the uke all over the world, that they'd bring this record back into the market." Lyle Ritz calls that wonderful.