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Jake Shimabukuro Ukulele Workshop in Coquitlam

We are over the moon to announce that Jake Shimabukuro, the international ukulele superstar, will be visiting from Hawai’i to give a rare workshop aimed at inspiring ukulele players of all ages and levels on Monday, December 12 in Coquitlam.

We are also very proud that this workshop has been designated as a Coquitlam 125 sanctioned event in celebration of the City’s 125 years for the cultural legacy it will bring to residents in the region.

What’s more? Translink’s Evergreen Extension will open just in time for ukulele players in Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley to arrive by Skytrain at the terminus station immediately adjacent to the Evergreen Cultural Centre.

Tom Lee Music Canada is offering 10% off ukuleles and print music to participants of the workshop for the month of December. Be sure to save your workshop tickets.

Considered one of the world’s most influential ukulele players of all time, Jake will be sharing his expert knowledge and talents on the tiny instrument that has touched the hearts of millions around the globe. This workshop will prove to be a breathtaking event that will give participants a glimpse of the amazing magic one can perform with the approachable and adorable ukulele. Advance tickets went on sale at 10am on Sunday, October 23. Get your tickets early for best seat selection!

Biography

Jake Shimabukuro can still vividly remember the first time he held a ukulele, at age four. It was an encounter that would shape his destiny and give the world one of the most exceptional and innovative uke players in the history of the instrument — an artist who has drawn comparisons to musical titans such as Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.

That first brush with musical fate took place in Honolulu, Hawai’i, where Jake was born and still makes his home. Growing up, he studied and played a number of other musical instruments — drums, piano and guitar. “But none of those instruments spoke to me the way the ukulele did,” he says. “There was something about the uke that was different. Music was my passion, but I had no idea that I could make it as a musician. I always thought that maybe I’d be a school teacher and incorporate music into the classroom, rather than being on a stage performing in front of people.”

Of course, Shimabukuro would end up performing on many of the world’s most renowned stages. Starting his career in Hawai’i, he took his inspiration from some of the islands’ great uke players — Eddie Kamae, Ohta-San and Peter Moon. But he quickly expanded his scope from there, drawing influences from across the musical spectrum.

Widespread acclaim brought high-visibility collaborations with a wide range of artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Jimmy Buffett, Bette Midler, Cyndi Lauper, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Dave Koz, Michael McDonald, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Tommy Emmanuel, and Marty Friedman. Jake Shimabukuro has topped Billboard’s World Music Chart on numerous occasions, and has sold out prestigious venues and festivals such as the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center, Sydney Opera House, Wolf Trap, Bonnaroo, SXSW, and the Playboy Jazz Festival. He even played for Queen Elizabeth II at The Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, England.

Shimabukuro’s busy touring schedule — 140 dates a year — is complemented by a rich and varied catalog of albums that capture the many moods of the uke. His most recent CD, Nashville Sessions, is one of his most adventurous, multifaceted and engaging records to date, blending elements of jazz virtuosity with heartfelt melodicism.

A husband and father of two, Jake balances his stellar career with family life and community service. He travels to schools around the world spreading positive messages to young people, encouraging them to live drug free and find their passion — just as he did at age four when his mother gave him his first ukulele lesson. In the time since then, he has played a key role in the current revival of interest in the ukulele.

Jake Shimabukuro Timeline

Workshop


Title: Jake Shimabukuro Ukulele Workshop

Date: Monday, December 12, 2016

Time: 8:00pm (Doors open at 7:30pm)

Location: Evergreen Cultural Centre, Studio Theatre, 1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam

Parking: Free

Advance Ticket: $43.25 (inclusive of GST and Capital Improvement Fee) Reserved Seating

Ticket at the Door: $53.75 (inclusive of GST and Capital Improvement Fee)

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Tickets are also available through the Box Office by phone at 604.927.6555 or in person at the Evergreen Cultural Centre.

Participants may bring their ukuleles to the workshop.

Map:

Thank you for the tremendous enthusiasm and support!

Local Accommodations

Directions and Parking

Visit Evergreen Cultural Centre’s Find Us page.
Road Condition Traffic Camera: Drive BC’s Highway 1 in Coquitlam

Generous Sponsors Help Cutie Circle Amass 50 Ukulele Kits to Start Public Lending Collection at the Fraser Valley Regional Library

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Do you know that starting in October, music lovers from Port Coquitlam to Boston Bar can partake in the joy of ukulele by borrowing the world’s happiest instrument from their local library?

That’s right! Fifty cheerful ukuleles complete with digital tuners and gig bags contributed by Cutie Circle, Empire Music, King’s Music, Ohana Music and our good friend, Linda Thiessen, are coming to the 25 branches of the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) Uke ’n Play Collection (FVRL’s media release). The generous sponsors are committed to bringing music to the people and supported this project right from the start! The dream of putting one uke in every home is getting one step closer to reality!

Thanks to the friendly ukulele players at the Terry Fox Library (who disguised themselves as smiley librarians) in Port Coquitlam, the Cuties and FVRL collaboration was formed in February!

Library

Serving a population of 700,000, the FVRL will add the joy of making music to its offerings. In its typical library fashion, the FVRL will include ukulele instruction books to the lot and assemble them nicely into carrying bags to round out the 50 ukulele kits!

The ukulele lending collection includes a variety of styles and colours to suit different tastes and levels of playfulness. From the standard figure-eight shaped brown soprano ukuleles, to their red glossy cousins, to the huggable pineapple cuties, to the thin-line arched back travel-size ukes decorated with abalone and pearl inlays, there is a ukulele to appeal to every aspiring ukester!

Here’s a sample of the fun collection.

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Ukulele #02

uke23

Ukulele #23

uke38

Ukulele #38

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Ukulele #50

What’s more? The strings of each uke have been carefully stretched by members of the Cutie Circle. In fact, the Cuties have lovingly strummed a handful of happy tunes into the tummy of each and every uke to get the instruments well on their way to meeting their new friends in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley. The hope of the Cuties is, of course, that all the people the ukes will touch can then build on these happy vibes and spread the music to their friends and families.

The Cuties also had a farewell party for the ukes to give these babies a grand send-off.

Courtesy of Jerry S.

Courtesy of Jerry S.

The official launch of the lending collection will take place at five of the FVRL locations:

Uke ’n Play launch events will be held at five FVRL locations. Please contact the library for more details.

The ukuleles will be in your neighbourhood in October!

Are you ready?!

Azo Bell, Aussie Ukulele Maestro, Gives Workshop and Concert

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Aussie Ukulele Maestro, Azo Bell, will be including a stop in Coquitlam during his North of the Equator Tour on September 16, 2016. We are extremely thrilled to have Azo teach and perform in Canada.

** Hot off the press **
The multi-talented Azo Bell has just been named this year’s Musical Saw Champion at the 2016 International Musical Saw Festival, Roaring Camp in Felton, California, in August.

Biography

Touted as “Australia’s top-ranked ukulele player” by the online magazine, World Music Central, Azo was already a professional musician with over 25 years experience as a guitarist when he began playing ukulele in 1992.

Since then he has played around his homeland (Australia) and the world as MD for Theatre group Stretch MK1, with his trio The Old Spice Boys, and solo. His tenth ukulele featured album is about to be released. (See his nine ukulele albums here.) His ukulele style stems from involvement in many musical genres, using techniques adapted from the Cavaquinho and the guitar, with an emphasis on improvisation.

Be sure to catch this very rare opportunity to see Azo Bell in action because the last time this ukulele legend toured in North America was almost 15 years ago. Guarantee your spot in the workshop and/or concert and register! There is a $5 discount for attending both workshop and concert.

“I have a new ukulele hero, Azo Bell from Byron Bay. He closed out the all-day festivities at the Melbourne Ukulele Festival on Sunday with his combo The Old Spice Boys. Wow! I’ll be spending some time with him this week as I make my way to Brisbane and the Gold Coast.”
– Jim D’Ville, “Play By Ear” Ukulele Educator

“Azo Bell is one of the most interesting and creative uke players around the world today. He’s a virtuoso musician who never fails to surprise and delight with his ever-changing ideas. His dedication to this humble yet challenging instrument is evident in the music he produces.”
– Bob Brozman, Bluesman

“Azo Bell is a master musician and a superb ukulele player. In Bell’s hands this modest instrument is an object of wonder. The Old Spice Boys can lift the heart.”
– Rhythms Magazine

“[Azo Bell] He’s an amazingly great player. I’ve seen him in action many times since 2002 and he never disappoints.”
– Ralph Shaw, King of the Ukulele

“I met Azo Bell in 2002 in New Jersey, attending my first ukulele festival. I will always remember his stage performance, getting sounds and tones I never thought possible out of his soprano ukulele.”
– DaSilva Ukulele Co., Berkeley, California

“As with all the best musical wits, underpinning the hilarity is expert musicianship. Bell, both a virtuoso and highly imaginative improviser, wrests some glorious sounds from his ukulele.”
– John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald

“Aussie Azo Bell is one of the best uke players of the new-uke generation. Along with band mates Billy Milroy on single string bass and Tim Reeves on snare drum, Azo shows off some amazing single note picking and strumming that are one part vaudeville, and one part modern jazz. Includes many standards Rag Mop, Foggy Day In London Town, Misty, and a slew of originals including the instant uke classic Spider Walk. Serious chops mixed with a wicked sense of humor.”
– Jim Beloff, Flea Market Music, California (from review of ‘Lost In Spice’ CD)

“In a sea of mediocrity it’s nice to watch a uniquely fresh-sounding band like The Old Spice Boys rise to the surface. They never fail to entertain an audience no matter how diverse.”
– Keven Oxford Founder/Producer East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival

“Armed with outrageously minimal instrumentation, The Old Spice Boys get more music, more laughs and more style from a ukulele, a tea-chest bass and a solitary snare drum than most bands get from a truckload of instruments and equipment.”
– Newcastle Herald

Check out some of his amazing performances.

Workshop (6:30pm)

Azo Bell’s workshop reflects his expertise with the instrument, as a musician, and as a person, and suits ukulele players of all levels and all persuasions. The focus is on musicianship rather than learning tunes. As far as possible the program is flexible to meet the varying interests and abilities of ukulele players.

1. Musicianship is often regrettably overlooked when people begin learning and sometimes continues to be. Azo’s workshop deals with the listening and trust required to be a musician – from the most basic level. The group is directed to listen, play (together), and imagine music in fun ways that encourage a functional relationship with music – and with each other as musicians.

2. Technical aspects of the instrument – can make it hard to play or spoil the sound. Azo will demonstrate some simple tests to reveal the most common problems and show how most can be corrected using common tools (or how to avoid buying an instrument that will be difficult to set up).

3. Azo will demonstrate his unique strumming technique. There will be some rhythm exercises. If there is interest, he’ll break it down (slow it down) and describe the learning process he followed to develop it and how to enjoy it.

4. Some time will be devoted to Q & A and general discussion. Whenever possible this will continue after the allocated time and wind down when everyone’s had enough.

5. Unless specifically asked, Azo will avoid harmonic theory. It is possible to be a fine musician knowing nothing about it, and discussion can easily get boring for those who already understand it and for those who don’t want to.

If asked, Azo will describe his pathway to understanding the instrument harmonically and how to draw “continuous fretboard” diagrams showing all possible chord and scale fingerings.

Solo Concert (8:45pm)

Azo’s dynamic multi-genre playing will charm uke lovers all over. Uke-flipping is just one of his many specialties! Be mesmerized by his masterful musicianship and his witty on-stage presence.

Date: Friday, September 16, 2016

Time: 6:30pm — 8:30pm; 8:45pm — 9:30pm

Location: Studio A, Evergreen Cultural Centre, 1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam

Cost: $30 for workshop; $15 for concert; $40 for workshop and concert.

Please complete the registration form below. A confirmation email will be sent to all registered participants.

Local Accommodations

Directions and Parking

Visit Evergreen Cultural Centre’s Find Us page. Please check this page for latest updates on road construction near the Evergreen Cultural Centre. Studio A is on the North side of the Evergreen Cultural Centre.

studioa

 

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