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Uke Jackson (né Stephen DiLauro) has the small screen to thank for his lifelong affair with the ukulele. “I remember being a little kid, maybe five or six, and just strumming a plastic ukulele along with Tennessee Ernie Ford on the TV,” he says. “It’s the most democratic instrument there is—anyone can play a song the first time they pick one up.” Though a successful writer and playwright, Jackson, 56, has made garnering respect for the unassuming four-stringer something of a personal crusade. He’s the founder of the New York Ukulele Ensemble and the driving force behind the New York Uke Fest, a four-day pluckapalooza running through Sunday 29 at the Theater for the New City.
Though largely co-opted by mainland musicians, the ukulele was invented in Hawaii in the 1880s. (The word ukulele means “jumping flea” in Hawaiian, a reference to the nimble movements of a skilled player’s fingers.) Over the years, it’s fallen in and out of favor in popular culture, but has always had a strong New York contingent. The first wave of interest came from radio, where Big Apple uke stars like Roy Smeck and May Singhi Breen flourished in the 1920s. (Breen was crucial in convincing Tin Pan Alley music publishers to print ukulele sheet music.) The second surge, in the 1950s, corresponded with the popularization of television. “It pretty much started with Arthur Godfrey and ended with Tiny Tim,” says Jackson, adding that the late-’60s Tonight Show regular “didn’t really move the genre forward,” with his falsetto singing and flamboyant persona.
Today, a new generation of enthusiasts is gaining inspiration from a New York–centric “ukulele underground,” whose numbers include Stephin Merritt, the Hazzards (of “Gay Boyfriend” fame), the now-defunct Isotoners and the Moonlighters, a traditional Tin Pan Alley–style quartet performing Friday night.
The Internet has also been a big influence on third-wave ukulele devotees. “I found Bosko & Honey’s “Ukulele Love-in” on YouTube,” says Jackson. “They live in the Australian rain forest and have this sort of tropical hippie vibe.” The husband-and-wife team plays Saturday night along with stateside groups like the Aloha Boys and Sazerac and his Genial Orleanians.
In 2006, the first Uke Fest attracted nearly 2,000 attendees. This year, in addition to a diverse roster of scheduled performances, jam sessions and workshops—plus vendors offering new, used and rare instruments—the celebration includes a novelty-songwriting class, a seminar on radio personality/uke player Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards (better known as the voice of Jiminy Cricket) and a special performance of “Tiny Bubbles” in honor of ukulele legend Don Ho, who died on April 14. As an added incentive, sponsor Sam Adams will provide free beer all weekend.
Jazz musician J. Walter Hawkes, who plays with the Ukulele Ensemble on Saturday and in his own trio on Thursday, credits New York’s outrageous real-estate market for his introduction to the instrument. “I’m a trombonist by training,” he says. “But when I was living in a room that was about eight by ten feet, that was out of the question.” The gift of his grandfather’s 1931 Martin uke, smaller and quieter, opened a new creative outlet for Hawkes, who now strums regularly at the Ear Inn and Park Slope’s Cafe Steinhof. “People are getting tired of how overproduced music is these days,” he says. “The ukulele is very organic; you can really break a song down. And there’s something about it that doesn’t let you take yourself too seriously.” The physical toll on players, he says, is negligible. “It’s definitely easier on the fingers than the guitar. Nobody is singing about playing the ukulele ‘till their fingers bled.’ ”
Of course, if Jackson had his way, the ukulele would surpass the acoustic guitar as the folk instrument of choice. “The real reason for the festival is to help the ukulele continue to find its audience,” he stresses. “Hopefully, the end of six-string tyranny is nigh.” Air Uke Nation, anyone?
The New York Uke Fest runs Thu 26–Sun 29. Visit nyukefest.com.
