What started as a film screening this month in Elora has turned into a full-blown ukulele jam led by one of the best ukulele players on the planet.
James Hill met his first ukulele at nine years old as part of a school music program in Langley, B.C.
Now no less a source than the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, in the heart of the strange and simple four-stringed instrument’s birthplace, places the lanky young Hill among the premier players in the world.
On Jan. 30, at the Elora Centre for the Arts he’ll show just what the humble ukulele can do. Hill’s virtuoso performance will be followed by a ukulele jam, open to all comers, as well as a screening of the film Mighty Uke, by Toronto-based team Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher.
Mighty Uke documents the instrument’s recent rise in popularity and is quickly becoming a cult hit within the growing ukulele culture.
Everyone is encouraged to bring a uke, says organizer Clair McElhinney, and extra instruments will be on hand.
“The ukulele is so simple that anyone can play it,” says McElhinney.
Hill’s talents go beyond mere strumming. He rips a ukulele the way Jimi Hendrix ripped electric guitar, coaxing unexpected complexity from four simple strings.
“Hill shows that the ukulele can be sleek, sophisticated, and surprisingly sexy in the right hands,” said one reviewer.
He is also a ukulele teacher, a composer, and he leads ukulele jams whenever he can.
Tickets for Hill’s performance and the screening of Mighty Uke at 2 p.m., Jan. 30, are $15, available at Box Social in downtown Elora and at Ground Floor Music in Guelph, or through Paypal online at www.mightyukemovie.com. For more information please contact Claire McElhinney at 519-846-2172 or clairemce@yahoo.com.
