It’s here! A day I’ve dreamed of for many years..

I’m very proud of my work as a teacher and starting the uke school, but I have always been an artist first and foremost. That’s because we are so much more than our vocations. We aren’t just piles of bone and meat with electricity shooting between our eyeballs. We are a random amalgamation of atoms with real hopes and dreams. I make this album as tribute to the last twelve years of my ukie life. And as a tribute to those I’ve loved. Full stop.

Complicated as those relationships may have been. I am grateful to those I’ve loved and to those who have loved me back. 

If I’ve done my job right, these songs will stop you in your tracks and then send you into a full sprint. A great album never lets you guess what’s coming next, that’s what we’ve done here. It is a melodic journey as unpredictable as the lives we lead. The good times can feel so short, the bad times can feel like an eternity. I hope I’ve given both their due. There will be no monoliths in this lifetime.

This album will not make your hopes and dreams come true. But I hope it encourages you to take that first step to make them come true. Which is why lastly, I would like to dedicate this album to my friend Scotty, since he can’t do that kind of stuff anymore.

And without further ado, please enjoy Direct Line In.

palm tree in my mind

Principal of Ukulele School of NYC, Card carrying member of the Ukulele Orchestra of NYC. Lots more at: ukulelejake.com

palm tree in my mind

Ukulele Jake