Posted - 3/13/09

Lot’s of changes in recent days. TRUST was launched in December at the Hugo Garcia Gallery with Jesse Elder accompanying me for a set of tunes from that CD. The arrangements of these songs represents a real departure in style from my past CDs. A jazz quintet instead of a guitar based rock band creates a very different atmosphere. While it is relatively new for me, there are historical roots for the ukulele in such jazz bands. We were trying to capture some of these influences.

In April, I will be playing with the New Jersey Uke Club at the Rutgers University Folk Festival. This is an annual event that draws thousands to the campus. This year their sub-theme is to celebrate 50 years of Hawaiian statehood. That is why they invited a ukulele club to perform. Included in our repertoire at the folk festival is Diamond Head, one of my original songs from TRUST.

The biggest news is about May and the New York Uke Fest. When it looked like the Fest was about to disappear from the New York Scene, I acquired it from Uke Jackson. Almost immediately, I booked Bill Tapia and Mihana to enhance the Hawaiian element of the Fest. Since then, many other great players have been signed. The most prominent is Nellie McKay, but at least 15 other acts will be performing over that weekend. I will open with a short set of TRUST songs. Two days of workshops and concerts follow at Baruch College, then we move to the Gershwin Hotel for an all-day indoor luau. Great fun!

Following the festival, I expect to begin work on a new CD in Florida.