CD Review: Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band, “Play!”

Aug 24, 10 • In Music

What comes to mind when you think of the ukulele? If you’re a member of my generation (or older), you probably think of Don Ho or his many cheesy, Hawaiian-shirted imitators — but the uke is so much more than “Tiny Bubbles” on The Lawrence Welk Show, and Heidi Swedberg is doing her part to demonstrate just how family-friendly ukulele music can be. Play! offers up 15 tracks, most of them from the public domain (examples include “Froggie Went a-Courtin’” and “Pop Goes the Weasel”), with few production frills and plenty of silly charm. It’s a conscious throwback to the days of family parlor music — as Swedberg writes in the liner notes, listeners should “Tune up and learn one, two or three chords. Play!” And if you’re a little intimidated by the prospect of