OK this is one of those theads where you get to talk about your fave uke players and why you think they are sooo cool.
I plugged James Hill into the player this morning and truth be told I rarely listen to "uke" albums. The CD was his second I believe with the first one being instrumental. I owned that one but gave it away as it left me cold in spite of the fantastic playing.
Which brings me to why I think JH is a major force in music in general although that may be somewhat unrecognized due to how few people get turned on to his work. But it's his lyrical skills and songwriting ability that has me wowed. He's the complete package. In his CD "Man With a Love Song" he does his best work IMO. Each song is a masterful story told exceptionally well and his subject matter goes to the core of things rather that just skirting the edges. It's a truly remarkable CD that stands head to head with all the other great musicians I listen to. My CD collection is several thousand so that's saying something.
Anyway I want to recommend with my highest praise James Hill's MAN WITH A LOVE SONG and JH generally. His CD with Anne Davison did not come up to the level of the previous CD but it's still worth owning.
Anyone agree?
Yep. I totally agree. As you may remember from my posts in other threads recent and in the past, I'm a huge fan of James Hill, he's one of my heroes for many reasons, most of which have been said by others here in this thread, and I agree with all of them.
I listened to 'Man With A Love Song' constantly for almost a year. If it were on vinyl I would have worn the grooves off the record and had to replace it several times by now.
I also really like the solo work that Anne Janelle does, she has a sweet singing voice and it really draws me in to her music.
I could not get into 'The Old Silo'. When it was first released I listened to it on his web site like a dozen times and it did not grab me. One of the things is that I've been put off by grungey sounds since taking up the ukulele, and he's using lots of distortion to rock out, and I could not keep on it like with his other recordings.
He's been a huge influence to me in my perception of music, and what he's done for music education around the world, and a big inspiration to keep playing.
I...um...ahem. I have kind of a surprise for you Ice!
You may remember from a thread from WAY back, I mentioned that I had seen James Hill and Anne Janelle in person at the first ever Uke Fest in Morristown New Jersey, back in August 2013, organized by our fellow UU brother Scooter (aka ScooterD35).
Well not only did I see him perform live, but he was also gracious and kind enough to speak with me for about 15 minutes or so during the intermission between sets, I was in heaven. It was so hard not to be like a crazed freak being that he's one of my true heroes, but I managed to be normal about it all. he also posed for a photo with me, and I brought the inserts from all of my James Hill cd's, which he autographed personally to me.
I also had an opportunity to speak with Anne Janelle and she too is the sweetest and nicest person, and I can see why James loves her so much (this was right before their wedding).
In addition to all that I was able to speak with Jim Beloff for a few minutes and let him know how much I appreciate all that he has done for the ukulele, as well as what an inspiration he has been to me. He also posed for a photo with me.
Further, after the show, I got to spend some quality time with Victoria Vox, (hanging out for like 30 mins) in the lobby of the venue. She is so sweet and kind, and so unbelievably cute not only in appearance, but in her personality, that it kind of made me melt. I'm pretty sure I was blushing the whole time I was talking with her. She is an amazing person to speak to, and an awesome musician as well. Victoria also was kind enough to pose for a photo with me.
When I think back to that day, I can remember it so vividly, that it almost makes me gush with happiness that I was able to talk to some music and ukulele legends, and how nice they all were in person. Happy Memories
!!!
and NOW, for the SURPRISE!!! (drum roll please)
During the performance I recorded some video, of different parts of the show, which I had meant to edit and share with the community here on UU, but I never could find the time to put it all together...well...
Once upon a time, in another thread I mentioned this to our OP here, Icelander53, and he asked me to share the video, That was a LONG time ago.
So, inspired by this thread being created, I managed to steal a few hours from everything else, and finally put the video together. Mind you, it's hand-held, and recorded on an iPhone, so there's some camera shake here and there and it's not really full HD quality, but it is what it is, and is much better than not having any video of the event.
So what I've done is create a rough edit, and upload it to YouTube for all to see, especially Ice, since he's having a rough time with things right now, and I really wanted to honor the promise I made, as well as offer something to cheer him up...
Also, the music in the intro is the song 'Sheik of Araby' from James Hill's instructional book/cd combo called 'Jazz Ukulele'. Hopefully the YouTube copyright police will not block my video, but I'll cross that bridge when and if it happens.
I've embedded the video below, but to see and hear in higher quality, you should click the link below to see it on the actual YouTube web site.
and yes, not only do I LOVE the music of James Hill, but also Anne Janelle, Victoria Vox and Jim & Liz Beloff. :shaka:
[EDIT: @ 8:00 PM EST on 6/27/2015 - There was a problem with the original edit of the video, so I'm currently uploading a new version, sorry for any confusion and delay. I will update this post when YouTube tells me that it's finished processing. Thanks in advance for your patience!]
[EDIT #2: @ 10.34 PM EST on 6/27/2015 - Video finished over at YouTube, so I have embedded it here and also included the direct link below]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AML5WGULXk
