Artist Biography
If the number of musicians with this name were piled up on top of each other, the resulting mound could obscure several grand pianos and a batch of tubas, so obviously a ukulele would get completely lost. But James Hill of Vancouver, British Columbia, has found this nifty little stringed instrument to be his talisman, although he also plays the guitar in a funk band, and the violin and viola in classical contexts. Hill actually became acquainted with the ukulele in his primary school years, since his school district used the instrument to teach elementary music theory. His fifth grade year climaxed with Hill's promotion to the school system's premier Langley Ukulele Ensemble directed by the limber Peter Luongo. This is one ensemble there is apparently no growing out of, as Hill has continued working with the group ever since. He finally launched his own solo career after a decade of performances with this ensemble, known as LUE for short, and short is important when it comes to the uke.
The 2002 release Playing It Like It Isn't was a remarkable and versatile collection of arrangements for the ukulele, leading, among other things, to a tour invite spearheaded by CBC radio host Stuart McLean. Hill has since performed as a soloist in Vancouver, Seattle, Hawaii, and Florida, and began working on his Bachelors of Music degree in 1999 at the School of Music at the University of British Columbia. The ukulele master has also studied violin with Andrew Dawes and viola with David Harding, performing in the string section of the UBC Symphony and the UBC Contemporary Players, as well as with the Vancouver New Music Society. His wide-ranging interests include electro-acoustic music, improvisation, and jazz. He also performs in the aggressive funk group the People vs. Funk, based out of Vancouver. ~ Eugene Chadbourne
Hometown
Canada
Genre
Easy Listening