Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band

If you own a ukulele, musician Heidi Swedberg wants you to bring it to her upcoming concert at Paradise Valley Community College.

Swedberg, who portrayed Susan, engaged to character George Costanza on the television comedy "Seinfeld," will bring her Sukey Jump Band next month for an interactive musical performance for children at the college, 18401 N. 32nd St.

While aimed at children, the concert really is for all ages, Swedberg said in a phone interview from her home in California.



Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/nephoenix/20120510paradise-valley-community-college-concert#ixzz1uxLtKXAW - AZ republic

There is lots of interest in musicians who create new worlds and new songs for the youth of today (and tomorrow). But there is something to be said for making old songs sound new with verve and joy, and so I'm glad Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band is there to take this path slightly-less traveled (at least traveled well) with their debut disk Play!. The Los Angeles-based Swedberg and her band run through a mostly familiar set of tunes -- at least to anyone who knows their Raffi from their Yanni -- but between Swedberg's ukulele and and her band's wide set of instruments (e.g., saw, glockenspiel, slide whistle) they provide new arrangements. (It's supposed to facilitate teaching ukulele, but the end result is something much more fulfilling.) The presence of a few kids (and kids at heart) singing along to songs like "Muffin Man or "Skip 2 My Shoo" make the album accessible for all, but the slightly ethereal takes on "Buckeye Jim" and the "Japanese Umbrella Song" put this in a league above your typical "20 Classic Children's Songs" collection.

For the most part, this album is targeted at kids ages 2 through 7. To Swedberg's credit, though, she actively encourages families to sing along and helpfully provides ukulele chords (as an amateur ukulele player, this was super cool) and lyrics to help that cause along. (Listen to song clips here.)

If Play! doesn't quite scale the heights of the original-old-songs-in-new-bottles-master Raffi, it comes a lot closer than most. More, please. Recommended. - Zooglobble

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 sitting down and learning to play “Kookaburra” or “My Dog Has Fleas,” don’t worry — she’s included tabs in the booklet. Unlike the many albums engineered to make your kids beg for Backyardigans dolls or Dora backpacks, here’s a collection that challenges you to make your own joyful noise. How refreshing is that?

And okay, so you probably aren’t going to shut off the TV and start a family band right away. But even if listening to Play! doesn’t inspire you to buy a ukulele for every member of your family, it’s still an awful lot of fun — Heidi Swedberg is an immensely appealing performer, and she has a lot of fun with her song selections, whether she’s crooning the “Japanese Umbrella Song” or lending a little pineapple flair (and singing saw) to “Dream a Little Dream.” For mellow afternoons, dancing in the kitchen with your kids, or family band practice, Play! backs up the cheerful demand imposed by its title. More, please. - Dadnabbit

A GREAT album, and a great idea! Heidi Swedberg is an actress with a dual career as a ukulele teacher. She is EXTREMELY passionate about teaching kids and families to play the ukulele and put together this album so that her students would have something to play along with and practice to at home. The album turned out so well that reviewers nationwide have been buzzing about it. PLAY! is made up, mostly, of traditional American children's folk songs but also has a wonderful Japanese children's song, about a young boy getting caught in the rain, and a cover of "Dream A Little Dream" on it. You and yours can learn to play the songs on the album with the included ukulele fingering and chord charts.
- (mom)tini

***Heidi Swedberg***
Gotta admit, this CD had three things going against it from the start: kids' music by a famous person (Swedberg played George's fiance on Seinfeld), children's voices in the songs (tends to make tunes too cutesy), and venturing into classic folk territory (beloved material often gets too modernized or shined up to within an inch of its life). Not so with Heidi Swedberg's PLAY!

Swedberg and The Sukey Jump Band run through a veritable greatest hits of classic folk tunes on the L.A.-based ukulele teacher/enthusiast's debut album PLAY! From long-lost classics like "Paw Paw Patch," "Japanese Umbrella Song," and "Cricket's Lullaby" to well-known tunes like "Muffin Man," "Buckeye Jim," and "Dream a Little Dream," Swedberg infuses each song on PLAY! with warmth, joy, playfulness, and, most importantly, ukuleles!

PLAY! includes a couple of medleys: "Skip to My Shoo" joins "Skip to My Lou" and "Shoo Fly," while "Train Medley" ties together folk favorites "I've Been Working on the Railroad," "Rock Island Line," and "Freight Train." Swedberg also performs a nice cover Chubby Parker's version of "Froggy Went A-Courtin'" (remember that "King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O" refrain?).

The most unique tune on PLAY!, though, has to be the Frank Zappa-meets-Spike Jones and His City Slickers version of "Pop Goes the Weasel," as a simple ukulele verse of the familiar rhyme is followed by a discordant, percussion-filled middle section.

Don't forget to check out the booklet insert, where you'll find a short background story for each song, as well as ukulele chords and finger placements. If you're a fan of Laura Doherty or Elizabeth Mitchell, you'll dig Heidi's quiet but fun-loving, sweet but not syrupy style on PLAY!

- Warren Truitt/ Kid's music that rocks

***Heidi Swedberg***
Gotta admit, this CD had three things going against it from the start: kids' music by a famous person (Swedberg played George's fiance on Seinfeld), children's voices in the songs (tends to make tunes too cutesy), and venturing into classic folk territory (beloved material often gets too modernized or shined up to within an inch of its life). Not so with Heidi Swedberg's PLAY!

Swedberg and The Sukey Jump Band run through a veritable greatest hits of classic folk tunes on the L.A.-based ukulele teacher/enthusiast's debut album PLAY! From long-lost classics like "Paw Paw Patch," "Japanese Umbrella Song," and "Cricket's Lullaby" to well-known tunes like "Muffin Man," "Buckeye Jim," and "Dream a Little Dream," Swedberg infuses each song on PLAY! with warmth, joy, playfulness, and, most importantly, ukuleles!

PLAY! includes a couple of medleys: "Skip to My Shoo" joins "Skip to My Lou" and "Shoo Fly," while "Train Medley" ties together folk favorites "I've Been Working on the Railroad," "Rock Island Line," and "Freight Train." Swedberg also performs a nice cover Chubby Parker's version of "Froggy Went A-Courtin'" (remember that "King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O" refrain?).

The most unique tune on PLAY!, though, has to be the Frank Zappa-meets-Spike Jones and His City Slickers version of "Pop Goes the Weasel," as a simple ukulele verse of the familiar rhyme is followed by a discordant, percussion-filled middle section.

Don't forget to check out the booklet insert, where you'll find a short background story for each song, as well as ukulele chords and finger placements. If you're a fan of Laura Doherty or Elizabeth Mitchell, you'll dig Heidi's quiet but fun-loving, sweet but not syrupy style on PLAY!

- Warren Truitt/ Kid's music that rocks

There is lots of interest in musicians who create new worlds and new songs for the youth of today (and tomorrow). But there is something to be said for making old songs sound new with verve and joy, and so I'm glad Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band is there to take this path slightly-less traveled (at least traveled well) with their debut disk Play!. The Los Angeles-based Swedberg and her band run through a mostly familiar set of tunes -- at least to anyone who knows their Raffi from their Yanni -- but between Swedberg's ukulele and and her band's wide set of instruments (e.g., saw, glockenspiel, slide whistle) they provide new arrangements. (It's supposed to facilitate teaching ukulele, but the end result is something much more fulfilling.) The presence of a few kids (and kids at heart) singing along to songs like "Muffin Man or "Skip 2 My Shoo" make the album accessible for all, but the slightly ethereal takes on "Buckeye Jim" and the "Japanese Umbrella Song" put this in a league above your typical "20 Classic Children's Songs" collection.

For the most part, this album is targeted at kids ages 2 through 7. To Swedberg's credit, though, she actively encourages families to sing along and helpfully provides ukulele chords (as an amateur ukulele player, this was super cool) and lyrics to help that cause along. (Listen to song clips here.)

If Play! doesn't quite scale the heights of the original-old-songs-in-new-bottles-master Raffi, it comes a lot closer than most. More, please. Recommended. - Zooglobble

There is lots of interest in musicians who create new worlds and new songs for the youth of today (and tomorrow). But there is something to be said for making old songs sound new with verve and joy, and so I'm glad Heidi Swedberg and the Sukey Jump Band is there to take this path slightly-less traveled (at least traveled well) with their debut disk Play!. The Los Angeles-based Swedberg and her band run through a mostly familiar set of tunes -- at least to anyone who knows their Raffi from their Yanni -- but between Swedberg's ukulele and and her band's wide set of instruments (e.g., saw, glockenspiel, slide whistle) they provide new arrangements. (It's supposed to facilitate teaching ukulele, but the end result is something much more fulfilling.) The presence of a few kids (and kids at heart) singing along to songs like "Muffin Man or "Skip 2 My Shoo" make the album accessible for all, but the slightly ethereal takes on "Buckeye Jim" and the "Japanese Umbrella Song" put this in a league above your typical "20 Classic Children's Songs" collection.

For the most part, this album is targeted at kids ages 2 through 7. To Swedberg's credit, though, she actively encourages families to sing along and helpfully provides ukulele chords (as an amateur ukulele player, this was super cool) and lyrics to help that cause along. (Listen to song clips here.)

If Play! doesn't quite scale the heights of the original-old-songs-in-new-bottles-master Raffi, it comes a lot closer than most. More, please. Recommended. - Zooglobble