Universal ukuleleist Jack Tracy plays Java Man
Jack Tracy and his ukulele. File photo by Ed Solt The Ukulele is an ageless instrument transcending cultures and economic boundaries. Local uke player Jack Tracy’s mission statement is synonymous with this essence, fittingly the official instrument of “the Aloha State,” Hawaii. On any given day in the South Bay, Tracy can be heard strumming his signature covers or crooning an original for everyone to hear. After an introduction to the Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants in the 1880s, Queen Liliʻuokalani and King Kalākaua, the last Hawaiian monarchy, embraced the ukulele, establishing the instrument in Hawaiian culture. American GIs serving in the Pacific Theater in WWII came back with fond on leave memories of Hawaii and a taste for Hawaiian music. Raised in a military family, Tracy first heard the uke on military radio stations. “I grew up on base living in the Bavarian Woods of South Germany,” Tracy said. “We had no TV at all — just the radio stations. I heard a lot of Don Ho. He was a part of my childhood.” In college, Tracy trained in Madrid, Spain to play Flamenco classical guitar. “I wanted to play that Gypsy cool rhythm South American beat from the streets as well as…
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