Martin 3K Professional Ukulele
String instrument
Classification	String instrument (plucked, nylon stringed instrument usually played with the bare thumb and/or fingertips, or a felt pick.)
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	321.322 (Composite chordophone)
Developed	19th century
Related instruments
Bowed and plucked string instruments, in particular the cavaquinho

The ukulele ( /ˌjuːkəˈleɪliː/ EW-kə-LAY-lee;^[1] from Hawaiian: ʻukulele [ˈʔukuˈlɛlɛ]), sometimes abbreviated to uke; is a member of the guitar family of instruments; it generally employs four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.^[2]

The ukulele originated in the 19th century as an Hawaiian interpretation of the machete,^[3] a small guitar-like instrument related to the cavaquinho, braguinha and the rajao, taken to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants.^[4] It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century, and from there spread internationally.

The tone and volume of the instrument varies with size and construction. Ukuleles commonly come in four sizes: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone.

History[link]

Hawaii[link]

Ukuleles are commonly associated with music from Hawaii where the name roughly translates as "jumping flea",^[5] perhaps due to the resemblance of the player's finger movements to a "jumping flea". Legend attributes it to the nickname of Englishman Edward William Purvis, one of King Kalākaua's officers, due to his small size, fidgety manner, and playing expertise. According to Queen Liliʻuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, the name means “the gift that came here”, from the Hawaiian words uku (gift or reward) and lele (to come).

Developed in the 1880s, the ukulele is based on two small guitar-like instruments of Portuguese origin, the cavaquinho and the rajao, introduced to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants from Madeira and Cape Verde.^[6] Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers.^[7] Two weeks after they disembarked from the Ravenscrag in late August 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts."^[8]

One of the most important factors in establishing the ukulele in Hawaiian music and culture was the ardent support and promotion of the instrument by King Kalākaua. A patron of the arts, he incorporated it into performances at royal gatherings.^[9]

Canada[link]

In the 1960s, educator J. Chalmers Doane dramatically changed school music programs across Canada, using the ukulele as an inexpensive and practical teaching instrument to foster musical literacy in the classroom.^[10] 50,000 schoolchildren and adults learned ukulele through the Doane program at its peak.^[11]

Japan[link]

The ukulele came to Japan in 1929 after Hawaiian-born Yukihiko Haida returned to the country upon his father's death and introduced the instrument. Haida and his brother Katsuhiko formed the Moana Glee Club, enjoying rapid success in an environment of growing enthusiasm for Western popular music, particularly Hawaiian and jazz. During World War II, authorities banned most Western music, but fans and players kept it alive in secret, and it resumed popularity after the war. In 1959, Haida founded the Nihon Ukulele Association. Today, Japan is considered a second home for Hawaiian musicians and ukulele virtuosos.^[12]

United Kingdom[link]

The singer and comedian George Formby was perhaps the UK's most famous ukulele player, though he often played a banjolele, a hybrid instrument consisting of an extended ukulele neck with a banjo resonator body. Demand surged in the new century due to its relative simplicity and portability.^[13]

United States[link]

Pre–World War II[link]

The ukulele was popularized for a stateside audience during the Panama Pacific International Exposition, held from spring to fall of 1915 in San Francisco.^[14] The Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble, George E. K. Awai and his Royal Hawaiian Quartet,^[15] along with ukulele maker and player Jonah Kumalae.^[16] The popularity of the ensemble with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among Tin Pan Alley songwriters.^[17] The ensemble also introduced both the lap steel guitar and the ukulele into U.S. mainland popular music,^[18] where it was taken up by vaudeville performers such as Roy Smeck and Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. On April 15, 1923 at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, Smeck appeared, playing the ukulele, in Stringed Harmony, a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process. On August 6, 1926, Smeck appeared playing the ukulele in a short film His Pastimes, made in the Vitaphone sound-on-disc process, shown with the feature film Don Juan starring John Barrymore.^[19]

The ukulele soon became an icon of the Jazz Age.^[20] Highly portable and relatively inexpensive, it also proved popular with amateur players throughout the 1920s, as is evidenced by the introduction of uke chord tablature into the published sheet music for popular songs of the time,^[20] a role that would eventually be supplanted by the guitar in the early years of rock and roll.^[21] A number of mainland-based instrument manufacturers, among them Regal, Harmony, and Martin, added ukulele, banjolele, and tiple lines to their production to take advantage of the demand.

Post–World War II[link]

Boy in Hawaii wearing lei and holding a Maccaferri "Islander" plastic ukulele

a modern red ukulele

From the late 1940s to the late 1960s, plastics manufacturer Mario Maccaferri turned out about 9 million inexpensive ukuleles.^[22] The ukulele continued to be popular, appearing on many jazz songs throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.^[23] Much of the instrument's popularity was cultivated via The Arthur Godfrey Show on television.^[24] Singer-musician Tiny Tim became closely associated with the instrument after playing it on his 1968 hit "Tiptoe Through the Tulips".

Post-1990 Revival[link]

After the 1960s, the ukulele declined in popularity until the late 1990s, when interest in the instrument reappeared.^[25] During the 1990s, new manufacturers began producing ukuleles and a new generation of musicians took up the instrument.

Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole helped re-popularise the instrument, in particular due to his 2003 medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", used in films, television programs, and commercials. The song reached #12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart the week of January 31, 2004 (for the survey week ending January 18, 2004).^{[citation needed]}

Types[link]

Soprano pineapple ukulele, baritone ukulele and taropatch baritone ukulele.

Ukuleles in a music store.

Construction[link]

Ukuleles are generally made of wood, although variants have been composed partially or entirely of plastic. Cheaper ukuleles are generally made from ply or laminate woods, in some cases with a soundboard of an acoustically superior wood such as spruce. More expensive ukuleles are made of solid hardwoods such as mahogany (Swietenia spp.) Some of the most expensive ukuleles, which may cost thousands of dollars, are made from koa (Acacia koa), a Hawaiian wood.

Typically ukuleles have a figure-eight body shape similar to that of a small acoustic guitar. They are also often seen in non-standard shapes, such as cutaway shape and an oval, usually called a "pineapple" ukulele, invented by the Kamaka Ukulele company, or a boat-paddle shape, and occasionally a square shape, often made out of an old wooden cigar box.

These instruments may have just four strings; or some strings may be paired in courses, giving the instrument a total of six or eight strings.

Instruments with 6 or 8 strings in 4 courses are usually called taropatch ukuleles, and used to be common in a concert size, but now the tenor size is more common for 8-string taropatch ukuleles. The 6 string, 4 course version, has 2 single and 2 double courses, and is sometimes called a Lili'u, although this name is also applied to the 8-string version.^[26]

Sizes[link]

Four sizes of ukuleles are common: soprano, concert, tenor, and baritone. The less common sopranino has a nut to bridge of under 13 inches. The bass ukulele anchors the other end of the size spectrum.^{[citation needed]}

The soprano, often called "standard" in Hawaii, is the smallest and was the original size. The concert size was developed in the 1920s as an enhanced soprano, slightly larger and louder with a deeper tone. Shortly thereafter, the tenor was created, having more volume and deeper bass tone. The baritone was created in the 1940s.

Tuning[link]

Ukulele standard tuning  Play (help·info).

File:My dog has fleas.png

"My dog has fleas" tuning.  Play (help·info)

Traditional tuning for the soprano ukulele was D6-tuning: A4 D4 F#4 B4, but standard tuning for concert and tenor ukuleles the C6-tuning instead: G4 C4 E4 A4. The G string is tuned an octave higher than might be expected. This is known as reentrant tuning. Some prefer "Low G" tuning on the tenor, with the G in sequence an octave lower. The baritone is usually tuned to D3 G3 B3 E4, which is the same as the highest four strings of the standard 6-string guitar.

Another common tuning for concerts is D-tuning, A4 D4 F#4 B4, one step higher than the G4 C4 E4 A4 tuning. D tuning is said by some to bring out a sweeter tone in some ukuleles, generally smaller ones. This tuning was commonly used during the Hawaiian music boom of the early 20th century, and is often seen in sheet music from this period. D tuning with a low 4th, A3 D4 F#4 B4 is sometimes called "Canadian tuning" after its use in the Canadian school system, mostly on concert or tenor ukuleles, and extensive use by James Hill and Chalmers Doane.^{[citation needed]}

Hawaiian ukuleles may also be tuned to open tunings, similar to the Hawaiian slack key style.^[29]

Related instruments[link]

Ukulele varieties include hybrid instruments such as the guitalele (also called guitarlele), banjo ukulele (also called banjolele), harp ukulele, and lap steel ukulele. There is an electrically amplified version, the electric ukulele. The resonator ukulele is louder and of different tone quality from traditional wooden ukuleles, producing sound by one or more spun aluminum cones (resonators) instead of the wooden soundboard. The Tahitian ukulele, another variant, is usually carved from a single piece of wood and does not have a hollow soundbox.^{[citation needed]}

Close cousins of the ukulele include the Portuguese forerunners, the cavaquinho (also commonly known as machete or braguinha) and the slightly larger rajao. Other stringed variants include the Puerto Rican bordonua, the Venezuelan cuatro, the Colombian tiple, the timple of the Canary Islands, the Spanish vihuela, and the Andean charango traditionally made of an armadillo shell. In Indonesia, a similar Portuguese-inspired instrument is the kroncong.^{[citation needed]}

Audio samples[link]

Ukulele chords A chord being played on a ukulele – 47 kB Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Henry Kailimai's hene A piece being played on a ukulele – 327 kB Problems listening to this file? See media help.

See also[link]

• List of ukulele musicians

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Beloff, Jim (2003) [1997]. The Ukulele: A Visual History (Revised & Expanded ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-758-7. 
• King, John (2012). The Ukulele: A History. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 974-0-8248-3634-4. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ukulele

• Beginner Ukulele Guide – information for beginning ukulele players
• Live Ukulele – tabs, lessons, and reviews
• Tiki King's Ukulele Brand name database – information on over 500 ukulele makers past and present
• Richard G's Ukulele Songs Over 1000 songs transcribed especially for ukulele.

Jake Shimabukuro (born November 3, 1976 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) is a ukulele virtuoso known for his complex finger work.^[1] His music combines elements of jazz and rock.^[2]

History[link]

Shimabukuro's mother gave him an ukulele at age four and he quickly took an interest in the instrument. A fifth generation Japanese-American,^[3] Shimabukuro initially gained attention in Hawaii in 1998 as a member of Pure Heart, a trio with Lopaka Colon (percussion), and Jon Yamasato (guitar). Shimabukuro was working at a music store in Honolulu when the group released its eponymous first album, featuring a sound and style somewhat similar to the Kaʻau Crater Boys. Their first album won them four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (the Hawaiian counterpart of the Grammy Awards): Island Contemporary Album of the Year, Most Promising Artist(s), Album of the Year and Favorite Entertainment of the Year, the latter determined by unrestricted public vote. Jake also gained attention on his YouTube page, gaining several subscribers with videos of him playing popular songs on his ukelele.

The following year, they released Pure Heart 2, which earned them another Hoku award for Island Contemporary Album of the year. Yamasato informed the others that he was quitting the group via a newspaper story that ran in the Honolulu Advertiser on Thanksgiving Day, and Shimabukuro and Colon formed another group, Colon, which they named in honor of Colon's father, famed percussionist Augie Colon. The new guitarist was Guy Cruz, younger brother of the Kaʻau Crater Boys' Ernie Cruz, Jr., and John Cruz. Colon won the Hoku Award for Favorite Entertainer of the Year in 2001, after which Shimabukuro decided to pursue a solo career.

As a solo artist after the break-up of Colon he experimented with using effect pedals to make new sounds that few would associate with an ukulele. He has released an instructional DVD called Play Loud Ukulele, and in 2006, composed the music to the Japanese film Hula Girls, which featured hula dancing and a Hawaiian spa resort as its primary theme and setting respectively.

Shimabukuro also performed on stage with Jimmy Buffett and his group, The Coral Reefer Band and is featured on Buffett's CD/DVD release, Live in Anguilla.

In November 2009, Shimabukuro accompanied fellow Hawaiian-born Bette Midler at the Royal Variety Show. They performed a rendition of the Beatles song "In My Life" as the first of Midler's three-song set.

Jake is the key spokesman for the "Music is Good Medicine" organization, which uses community outreach programs - and visits to schools, senior centers, and hospitals - to emphasize the importance of a healthy life and mind as well as promoting music and the arts.

Performing in Stockholm during JazzFest'09

Jake was featured on a January 15, 2012 episode of CNN's The Next List. ^[4]

Instruments[link]

Shimabukuro plays a custom-made 4 string tenor ukulele from Kamaka Ukulele. He uses a Line 6 Pod XT Live.^[5]

Discography[link]

Studio Albums:

• Sunday Morning, (2002)
• Crosscurrent, (2003)
• Walking Down Rainhill, (2004)
• Dragon, (2005)
• Gently Weeps, (2006)
• Hula Girls film soundtrack, (2007)
• My Life, (2007)
• Annon, 2009
• Peace Love Ukulele, (2011)

Another album is to be released on 2 October, 2012.^[6]

References[link]

• The 1999 Hoku Award
• Pure Heart member changes
• Jake Shimabukuro Interview

1. ^ http://www.musicplayer.com/article/jake-shimabukuro/Sep-05/13510
2. ^ Official biography
3. ^ Virtuoso more than a novelty act
4. ^ Belsky, Joshua. "Sneak Peek: Peace, love and ukulele with Jake Shimabukuro Sneak Peek: Peace, love and ukulele with Jake Shimabukuro". CNN. http://whatsnext.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/10/sneak-peek-peace-love-and-ukulele-with-jake-shimabukruo/. Retrieved 22 February 2012. 
5. ^ http://www.musicplayer.com/article/jake-shimabukuro/Sep-05/13510 Interview with Shimabukuro
6. ^ http://jakeshimabukuro.com/home/. Retrieved 28 May, 2012.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jake Shimabukuro

• Official website
• YouTube clip of live collaboration with beatboxer Jason Tom
• Jake in Concert on midnight ukulele disco
• Jake Shimabukuro collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Interview with Jake Shimabukuro 2009
• 2006 Shimabukuro Interview from Modern Guitars Magazine
• 2006 Shimabukuro Interview on NPR
• 2006 Shimabukuro Interview from AsiaXpress.com
• [1] - Photos from live show
• Jake Shimabukuro featured at the Waikiki Shell, Hawaii Romance Festival, May 2008
• Jake Shimabukuro feature by the Pacific Citizen newspaper, Oct. 2009

Jason Thomas Mraz
Jason Mraz in March 2011
Background information
Birth name	Jason Thomas Mraz
Born	(1977-06-23) June 23, 1977 (age 35) Mechanicsville, Virginia, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock, blue-eyed soul, alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, mandolin, mandola, banjo, ukulele, baritone ukulele
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Elektra Records (2002–2005) Atlantic Records (2005–present)
Associated acts	Tristan Prettyman, Bushwalla, Jack Johnson, Colbie Calliat
Website	jasonmraz.com
Notable instruments
Taylor Guitars

Jason Mraz ( /məˈræz/;^[1] born June 23, 1977 in Mechanicsville, Virginia) is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, Mr. A-Z, in 2005, that Mraz achieved major commercial success. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and sold over 100,000 copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of many international charts.

Mraz's international breakthrough came with the release of the single "I'm Yours" from the album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mraz his first top ten single. The song was on the Hot 100 for 76 weeks, beating the previous record of 69 weeks held by LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live". The song was a huge commercial success in the US, receiving a 5x platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over five million.^[2] The song was successful internationally, topping the charts in New Zealand and Norway and peaking in the top ten of multiple international charts.

Early life[link]

Jason Mraz was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia.^[3] He is of Czech descent through his grandfather, who moved to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1915.^[4] His surname is Czech for "frost"^[4] (Czech: mráz). His parents, Tom (Tomáš) Mraz and June, divorced when he was four years old, but he asserts that he had an idyllic childhood, saying, "My hometown of Mechanicsville was very American. There were white picket fences, a church on every street corner, low crime and virtually no drug use. It was a good place to grow up."^[5] He went to Lee Davis High School^[6]

Music career[link]

[edit] Live at Java Joe's (2001)

In 2001, Mraz released a live acoustic album, Live at Java Joe's, a coffee-house type place in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego where Jewel also made her debut. Here, Mraz performed with percussionist Noel "Toca" Rivera and bassist Ian Sheridan and felt at home singing and scatting through jazzy-pop songs. He would deliver rapidfire lyrics full of verbal mischief, and he would riff off the crowd like a stand-up comic.^[7] The album featured Mraz's free-lancing vocal style and songs he later re-released, including "1000 Things", "You and I Both", and "Halfway Home."

The album was made available to download on iTunes on March 11, 2008, under the title Jason Mraz: Live & Acoustic 2001.

[edit] Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002–2003)

In 2002, Mraz signed a recording contract with Elektra Records. He recorded his first album with the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer producer John Alagía, and Virginia-based roots rock band the Agents Of Good Root.^[8] Mraz then released his first major-label debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come. The album was a relative commercial success, peaking at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 200 and at number two on the Top Heatseekers Chart. The lead single from the album, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" was co-written by music production team The Matrix and it was Mraz's first top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 15.

Mraz's friend and former roommate Billy "Bushwalla" Galewood collaborated on the album, co-writing "Curbside Prophet" and the album's third single, and "I'll Do Anything".

[edit] Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom (2004)

In 2004, while touring, Mraz released a live album and accompanying DVD^[9], Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom, a special two-disc set including an audio CD of his concert from Milwaukee's Eagles Ballroom^[10] , plus a video DVD of the concert plus tons of backstage footage. Mraz performed with his touring band including drummer Adam King, percussionist Noel "Toca" Rivera and bassist Ian Sheridan and keyboardist Eric Hinojosa along with a guest appearance from Blues Traveler lead John Popper. The Eagles Ballroom (part of The Rave complex) has a capacity of only about 3,200^[11] making it possible for Mraz to have significant interaction with the audience, bridging his earlier coffeeshop performances to his later much larger venue concerts.

[edit] Touring and Mr. A–Z (2003–2008)

Mraz opened for Tracy Chapman in March 2003 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. In July 2005, Mraz opened for Alanis Morissette during her Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour. On July 26, 2005, he released his second major-label album, Mr. A–Z, for Atlantic Records. It entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number 5.^[12] In December, the album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while its producer, the prolific Steve Lillywhite, received a nomination for Producer of the Year.^[13] In 2006 "Life is Wonderful" the first track of the album was featured in the Hilton Journeys Hotel commercial"

Mraz began his long-running tour in support of Mr. A–Z at the San Diego Music Awards on September 12. The tour featured several opening acts, including Bushwalla and Tristan Prettyman, with whom he had co-written the duet "Shy That Way" in 2002.^[14] Mraz and Prettyman dated, ending their relationship in 2006. They also co-wrote the song "All I Want For Christmas is Us".^{[citation needed]} In November 2005, Mraz opened for the Rolling Stones on five dates during their 2005–2006 world tour. Also in 2005, Mraz was one of many singers featured in the fall advertisement campaign for The Gap entitled "Favorites". The music-themed campaign also featured other singers including Tristan Prettyman, Michelle Branch, Joss Stone, Keith Urban, Alanis Morissette, Brandon Boyd, and Michelle Williams.^[15] In December 2005, Mraz released the first part of his ongoing podcast.

Jason Mraz performs at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut on May 17, 2006.

Jason Mraz at Gröna Lund In Stockholm, Sweden 2008

In March 2006, Mraz also performed for the first time at a sold-out performance in Singapore with Noel "Toca" Rivera as part of the annual Mosaic Music Festival.^{[citation needed]} In May 2006, Mraz toured mostly small venues and music festivals in the U.S., along with a few shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The tour included a May 6, 2006 acoustic show with P.O.D., Better Than Ezra, Live, and The Presidents of the United States of America. Mraz was featured as a headlining guest of St. Louis's annual Fair St. Louis and performed a free concert at the base of the Arch on July 1, 2006. During this time, Mraz was also the opening act at several dates for Rob Thomas' Something to Be Tour.

In December 2006, Selections for Friends, the live, online-only album recorded during the Songs for Friends Tour, was released. Selections for Friends features Jason's favorite songs from the Schubas Tavern and Villa Montalvo shows he played in July 2006. Jason Mraz began 2007 by debuting his new single "The Beauty in Ugly", an earlier track penned by Mraz entitled "Plain Jane" that he rewrote for the ABC television program Ugly Betty. The song was featured as a part of ABC's "Be Ugly in '07" campaign.^[16] He has since released a song in Spanish entitled "La Nueva Belleza (The New Beauty)".^[17]

In 2007, American Idol contestant Chris Richardson performed "Geek in the Pink", which subsequently garnered the song mass recognition and increased downloads at the American iTunes Store. "Geek in the Pink" peaked at No. 22 on the U.S. iTunes Store on March 10, 2007, but it was ineligible for the site's Hot 100.^{[citation needed]} The tape-recording of bootlegs during Mraz's shows is explicitly supported by him and his management.^[18] In 2007, he also provided background vocals on Mandy Moore's song "Slummin' in Paradise", of her studio album Wild Hope.

[edit] We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008–2009)

Mraz released his third studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. on May 13, 2008, following the April 2008 "Music, Magic, Make Peace" Tour with Bushwalla, The Makepeace Brothers, and magician Justin Willman. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 200, giving Mraz his highest charting album to date. Following the success of its lead single, "I'm Yours", the album broke into the top ten of many international music charts and charted in the top three in Australia and the US.^[19]

The first single, "I'm Yours", reached No. 1 on AAA radio charts in the US. The single was a B-side to Mr A-Z, and was made famous by recordings from his live shows. In September 2008, the song became Mraz's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #6. As of October 14, 2008, the album has been certified Gold by the RIAA, selling in excess of 500,000 copies in the US. The song was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of multiple European charts and topping the charts in New Zealand for six weeks.^[20] In 2008, Mraz launched his single "I'm Yours" at the music industry-only event titled Sunset Sessions. Exactly one year later, Jason was nominated for a Grammy on the single.

Mraz and his song "I'm Yours" were nominated for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 51st Grammy Awards. The album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in 2009. On January 31, 2009, Mraz was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "I'm Yours" and "Lucky", the latter with Colbie Caillat. "Lucky" peaked on the Hot 100 at 48.

With "Make It Mine" and "Lucky", Mraz won two awards for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, respectively, at the 2010 52nd Grammy Awards.

On June 20, 2009, Mraz was awarded the Hal David Starlight award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.^[21]

[edit] Love Is a Four Letter Word (2009–present)

In early 2009, a song titled "Try Try Try" was leaked out into the Internet. The song was later released in 2010 by Michael Squire. New songs have been performed in his recent concerts, some of which have been uploaded onto YouTube. Earlier this year, Jason Mraz spent time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil working with Milton Nascimento. Mraz also recently met and worked with Willie Nelson, whose 'style' is fondly referenced in one of Mraz's early hits "Curbside Prophet."

In November 2009, Mraz posted on his MySpace page plans for a new album to be recorded starting in December, stating "In 2 weeks time I will enter the studio and begin recording the next album. Only a handful of songs are written and slated but the momentum of love is with me. Every day new verses get added on. The songs are coming together piece by piece. The process is unlike any of the other records before this. It's like I'm being gifted the album without having to do the work. I'm creating that in 6 months the project will be complete and then we'll hit the road again with new sounds and new musicians."^[22]

In 2010 Mraz spent time in London, England, where he worked on songs for his new album with producer Martin Terefe and wrote with British singer-songwriter Dido.^[23]

Mraz contributed vocals for The Grooveline Horns' eponymous EP on the track "Fun", a cover of the Con Funk Shun song, released March 2, 2010.^[24]

In August 2010, Mraz had a Q&A interview with Spin magazine. In the interview, he stated the current possible titles for his fourth album are Peace Canoe or The Love Album.^[25]

On September 13, 2010, Mraz was featured on the single "Love, Love, Love" by Hope.^[26]

On September 28, 2010, Mraz announced the upcoming release of the new "Life Is Good" EP consisting of recordings from his concerts from Maine to the Life is Good Festival in Canton, Massachusetts which will include live recordings of "Coyotes" and multiple new songs, "San Disco Reggaefornia", "Up", "What Mama Say", and "The Freedom Song". The EP was released on October 5, 2010.^[27] On the same tour, Mraz also showcased other new songs, such as "Thinking About You", "Love Looks Like" and "In Your Hands".

From December 26, 2010, the official website was updated with a series of images, the first seemingly a sequence of blocks separated by points to indicate a date, and the second image containing a rectangle, circle, triangle and a square, which appear to spell out the word "love." This image was also trademarked. Popular belief was that the "love" image was the beginning of a marketing campaign for a new record.

Appearing on VH1 Top 20 Countdown on March 5, 2011, Jason Mraz noted that he had 12 songs ready to go for the album but then decided they weren't good enough. In July 2011, his team's Twitter feed (@theRKOP) confirmed that his album will be released in early 2012.^[28]

JasonMraz.com relaunched in July 2011 with a new design and a message informing fans that a special announcement was imminent. A few days later, it was announced that Mraz would embark on a mini-global tour in September to November 2011, with occasional full band shows, but mostly as an acoustic duo with long time performing partner and friend, Noel "Toca" Rivera. The special shows marked the ten-year anniversary of the independently released Live at Java Joe's album. Mraz played in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Berlin and Prague, and was due to make a festival appearance in Hossegor, France before the festival was cancelled.

On September 19, 2011, Jason Mraz announced via his Facebook page the release of a new single titled "The World as I See It", which is intended to be the theme of the "In Search of Incredible" campaign, accompanied by the song being embedded via YouTube.^[29] On September 20, 2011, the single was released on the iTunes music store.^[30]

During the fall/winter tour, many songs old and new were showcased. Towards the end of the tour, Mraz announced that 'I Never Knew You' would not be featuring on the new album, suggesting that the final tracklist has been decided on and that the album is on course for release around February 2012.

On December 8, 2011, Mraz told Jeff Benjamin of Billboard that the "album is finished" except for one track he was attempting to re-work as an acoustic version. He described the album as, "It's not a departure in the sound of the genre in any way, it's just different tones, different textures. Musically, I think people are going to like it. It's personal. It's melodic. And it's mellow. There's a couple of up-tempo tunes, but mostly the rhythm of the heartbeat kind of takes precedence on this record. Medium-tempo tunes; which I love. It feels more like the pace of life. At least, based on my life and what I've been doing."^[31]

On January 20, 2012, during a performance streamed live from the Bing Bar at the Sundance Film Festival, Mraz told the audience that the album's title is Love Is a Four Letter Word. Mraz released a new single from the album, called "I Won't Give Up", and the single has peaked at No. 1 on iTunes.^[when?]

During January 2012, the Dutch online retailer bol.com accidentally released a tracklisting for the forthcoming album, which has been dismissed as being incorrect. On February 28, 2012, Jason released an EP entitled Live Is A Four Letter World. The EP was recorded live in San Diego and contains four tracks (one of which had already been released).^[32]

The new album was set to be released on May 8, 2012,^[33] however on February 14 it was stated that the new album is set to be released in stores and at all digital retailers on April 17, 2012.^[34]

Personal life[link]

Mraz was engaged to singer/songwriter and long-time close friend Tristan Prettyman.^[35] On June 7, 2011, Mraz said in an interview with the Daily Beast that he and Prettyman were no longer engaged.^[36]

Mraz lives a health-conscious lifestyle and enjoys eating mostly raw vegan foods.^[37] He owns an avocado farm in Bonsall in Northern San Diego County. Recently, he acquired the Garden Patch Farms&Orchard in Homer Glen, for its organic strawberries.^[38] Mraz is an active supporter of several charities including VH1's Save The Music Foundation, MusiCares, Free the Children, Life Rolls On, SPARC and the Human Rights Campaign.^[39] He has been named the 2010 SIMA Humanitarian of the Year. He also received the Clean Water Award in 2010 from the Surfrider Foundation.^[40] The same year, he also teamed up with The Nature Conservancy^[41] and created a PSA using his song I'm Yours to raise awareness about the non-profit organization's efforts to protect the earth.^[42] Jason performed at Farm Aid 2011 on August 13 in Kansas City. He has also advocated LGBT rights.^[43]

In 2011, Mraz appeared in the Visit California promotional film^[44] aimed at boosting tourism from the UK.

Discography[link]

• Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002)
• Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom (2004) + accompanying DVD
• Mr. A-Z (2005)
• We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008)
• Love is a Four Letter Word (2012)

Awards[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jason Mraz

• Official website
• Jason Mraz at the Internet Movie Database
• Jason Mraz at Allmusic
• Jason Mraz's channel on YouTube
• Jason Mraz collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Playlist: Jason Mraz – Nightline 07/17/09 – Reggae to rock, Mraz reveals his musical influences.
• Concert Photos: Jason Mraz – 09/17/2010, 09/18/2010 – Jason Mraz opens for Dave Matthews Band for two sold out shows at Chicago's Wrigley Field.

Seongha Jeong (정성하) (colloquially: Sungha Jung) (born 2 September 1996) is a South Korean professional acoustic finger-style guitarist who has risen to fame on YouTube and other sites. As of 2012, his channel had over 17 million views, with his videos getting a total of over 454 million views, and also over 726,000 subscribers.^[1]

Seongha typically takes three days to learn and practice a new piece, and video-record it for upload onto YouTube.^[2] His genre selection is rather broad, as he learns and plays many pieces that are playable on guitar, therefore consequently spread across numerous genres.

Seongha has won 13 awards on YouTube, including 6 "#1" awards. Also on YouTube, Seongha has 523 videos with over one million views. Seongha's video with the most views is the one which shows him playing the theme from "Pirates Of The Caribbean".

In 2010, he was featured on Narsha's solo album "Narsha" for the song "I'm in Love" Seongha has composed 18 pieces as of February 2011, two of which are featured in his debut album, "Perfect Blue". He released his second album, "Irony", on 21 September 2011.

In 2011, he performed in the US with Trace Bundy, as well as touring in Scandinavia and Japan.^[1]

See also[link]

• Yuto Miyazawa, Seongha's Japanese electric guitar-playing counterpart
• Trace Bundy, Fellow acoustic guitarist with whom Seongha collaborates
• Ulli Bögershausen, Fellow acoustic guitarist who helped him get his sponsorship with Lakewood Guitars

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website

Cee Lo Green
Cee Lo Green at a Gnarls Barkley concert in July 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Thomas DeCarlo Callaway[1]
Also known as	Cee Lo Green, Cee Lo
Born	(1974-05-30) May 30, 1974 (age 38)[1] Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genres	Soul, hip hop, neo soul, R&B, funk, alternative hip hop, hip hop soul
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, actor
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Arista, Elektra
Associated acts	Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob, TLC, Kid Cudi, OutKast, Jazze Pha, Bruno Mars
Website	ceelogreen.com

Thomas DeCarlo Callaway (born May 30, 1974),^[1] better known by his stage name Cee Lo Green, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. Originally came to prominence as a member of the southern hip hop group Goodie Mob, later launching a critically acclaimed solo career^[2] and forming Gnarls Barkley with DJ Danger Mouse.

Internationally, Cee Lo is best known for his hip hop work, his most popular was Gnarls Barkley's 2006 worldwide hit "Crazy", which reached number one in various singles charts worldwide, including the UK. In the United States, "Crazy" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Parent album St. Elsewhere was also a hit, reaching number one on the UK Albums Chart and number four on the US Billboard 200 album charts. Gnarls Barkley's second album, The Odd Couple (2008), was less successful and missed the top ten in both the UK and U.S., where it charted at number 12 in the U.S. and 18 in the UK.

In 2010, Cee Lo took a break from recording with Gnarls Barkley and released the single "F**k You!" on August 19 as a solo recording artist. The song was an instant hit, with the radio-edit version "Forget You" reaching the top spot in the UK and the Netherlands and charted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The parent album, The Lady Killer (2010) saw similar success, peaking within the top five of the UK Albums Chart and debuting within the top ten on the Billboard 200 album charts, and received a Gold certification from the BPI in the UK shortly after its release. His second single "It's OK" was a hit in Europe and the third single, "Bright Lights Bigger City" has also seen similar charting success. Cee Lo is also currently a vocal coach on the NBC reality talent show The Voice with Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Blake Shelton.

Early life[link]

Cee Lo Green was born Thomas DeCarlo Callaway in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated high school from Riverside Military Academy, Gainesville, GA., an All-Boy Boarding School. Both of his parents were ordained ministers and he started his music career in his church. His father died when he was two years old. His mother, Sheila J. Tyler-Callaway, was also a volunteer firefighter.^[3][4] She was involved in a car crash, leaving her paralyzed, and died two years after the accident. At the time, Cee Lo's career with Goodie Mob had just begun taking off. His mother's death led Cee Lo into depression, as is reflected in various songs throughout his career, including "Free" by Goodie Mob, songs on St. Elsewhere, and on The Odd Couple ("She Knows", "A Little Better").^[5][6] Cee Lo also expresses his love for his mother in the song "Guess Who" from Goodie Mob's Soul Food album. In an excerpt of "Cee Lo Distilled", a mini documentary produced by Absolut and The Fader released on YouTube, Cee Lo explained that his mother's death was a defining moment to "crossing that threshold over into a career".^[7]

Music career[link]

Goodie Mob[link]

Along with Big Gipp, T-Mo, and Khujo, Cee Lo was an original member of the Atlanta hip hop group Goodie Mob. He is the youngest of the four.^[8] The Goodie Mob were a part of the Atlanta rap collective the Dungeon Family, which also included OutKast. The group released their debut album, Soul Food in 1995. The album received much critical praise as a pioneering record for the then emerging Southern rap scene. It featured a distinctive soulful southern sound by production team Organized Noize, who had also produced OutKast's debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. Cee Lo got considerable praise for his rapping and singing of hooks, particularly on the hit singles "Cell Therapy" and "Soul Food". The band has recently published a single "Fight to Win" and performed it on The Voice.

The group's second album, Still Standing came out in 1998 and also received much critical praise. Its commercial performance was slightly lower than the group's previous effort however. At this time, Cee Lo focused primarily on rapping over singing. While he did frequently sing hooks and did some singing, at this point he was a rapper first and foremost. Cee Lo took more creative control on the group's next album, World Party. Released in 1999, this album was more of a party record than the group's previous output, getting away somewhat from their socially conscious lyricism.^[9]

During the making of the album World Party, Cee Lo left the group to pursue a solo career under Arista and the remaining members continued to perform together under the Goodie Mob name with Koch Records. They did however collaborate in combinations in the Dungeon Family album Even in Darkness. Although the next Goodie Mob album seemed to mock Cee Lo with its title, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show, the group expressed that it was more of a jab at Arista and the music industry as a whole.

The song "Hold On" from Big Boi of OutKast's Got Purp? Vol. 2 album was the first newly recorded Goodie Mob song with all four members since World Party. (Khujo later revealed to fans at an album signing^{[original research?]} for his new album "Mercury", that the song "Hold On" was originally recorded in 1995 before Soul Food was released.)

Santana[link]

In 1999, Cee Lo, credited as "Cee-Lo" was one of ten famous guest musicians who contributed to the Santana album Supernatural. Lauryn Hill wrote "Do You Like The Way," and the two of them trade off on lead vocals.

Solo career[link]

Cee Lo at a Gnarls Barkley concert in the Netherlands, July 2008.

Cee Lo's Arista career was short lived, as he was dropped after only two albums due to low record sales. His first album, Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections, was heavily in the vein of various other Dungeon Family releases, with southern soul/funk/jazz backings produced solely by himself and boasting appearances by fellow Dungeon Fam members Big Gipp and Backbone. The album explored his departure from Goodie Mob and his solo growth in the song "El Dorado Sunrise (Super Chicken)", as well as socio-political issues, and showcased his singing. The album did not sell very well, but Cee Lo achieved some airplay with the single "Closet Freak".

His second Arista album, Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine brought a more branched-out sound and more deeply explored southern rap music. This is evidenced by collaborations with Ludacris, T.I., and Pharrell Williams, as well as production from Timbaland, The Neptunes and Jazze Pha, among others. The only other Dungeon Family member that appeared on his second release was Big Rube. This album saw Cee Lo delve into other styles besides traditional rap. Timbaland proved to be Cee Lo's single producer as their song "I'll Be Around" received mild airplay. They performed the single on an episode in the second season of Chappelle's Show. "The One" featuring Jazze Pha and T.I. was also released as a single. On the heels of the success of Gnarls Barkley, Arista released a 17-track greatest hits collection of Cee Lo songs, Closet Freak: The Best of Cee-Lo Green the Soul Machine. It features predominantly Cee Lo solo tracks and several Goodie Mob songs. His new song "What Part of Forever" has been included in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.^[10]

After his second solo album, Cee Lo joined the group Gnarls Barkley (see below) with Danger Mouse, temporarily putting his solo career on hold. He would release two albums with that group, before again releasing solo material in 2010.

On August 14, 2010, Cee Lo released the single "Fuck You!" to YouTube ahead of his planned solo album release, due to its partial leak on April 13. "Fuck You!" was an instant viral smash hit,^[2] registering over two million plays in less than a week. Two weeks later on September 1, Cee Lo released to YouTube an official music video of the song.^[11] "Fuck You" made a debut at No.1 on the UK charts, notably beating out "Shame" from the recently reunited Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow. On December 1, 2010, Cee Lo received five Grammy nominations for "Fuck You!", which has been certified Gold in the United States^[12] and Denmark.^[13] The single achieved platinum status in Canada,^[14] New Zealand,^[15] and the UK;^[16] and multi-platinum status in Australia.^[17]

When discussing his most recent album, The Lady Killer (released on November 9, 2010, by Elektra Records and Roadrunner Records),^[18] Cee Lo said: "I suppose this is a more clear, concise, consistent, conceptual, entire album. It's a complete thought, because it's written to be like a score. The album's meant to be a motion picture, you know? I've never taken that approach to doing an album before."^[19] The album was certified Gold in the UK on December 6, 2010.^[20]

Green is touring with an all-female backing band named "Scarlet Fever" (made up of Sharon Aguilar, Brittany Brooks, Theresa Flaminio, and Regina Zernay Roberts), performing for Taratata,^[21] the BBC,^{[22][23][24][25]} Late Show with David Letterman,^[26] W's Symmetry Live Concert Series,^[27][28] Saturday Night Live,^[29][30] the Jimmy Kimmel Live! special show following the Academy Awards,^[31] and many other venues. Green also performed "Forget You", a sanitized version of his hit "Fuck You", with Gwyneth Paltrow and several puppets provided by The Jim Henson Company at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on February 13, 2011, a shoutout to Elton John, who wore a very similar costume in a Muppet show performance in 1977.^[32] At the 2011 BRIT Awards two days later, he was joined by British vocalist Joelle Bennett in another duet of "Fuck You".^[33][34] Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Green will be joining Rihanna and J. Cole on the North American leg of Rihanna Loud Tour in the summer of 2011.^[35] However, he later dropped out of the tour citing that his busy work schedule which includes his commitment to judging “The Voice”, writing a new book and recording a new album as the reason for his withdrawal.^[36] On August 14, 2011, Green performed at WWE SummerSlam performing "Forget You" and the event's theme, "Bright Lights, Bigger City".