Bradda Iz on NPR this morning

Behind the NPR report this morning on the death of the Hawaii-based marines in Iraq, you could hear the sweet and heartbreaking "Over the Rainbow" by Iz, Hawaii's most famous musician in recent memory. Iz was also our era's most famous (perhaps only) famous player of the ukulele and there are good links (including, perhaps, free sound clips, though they didn't work for me) at Ukulele heroes (follow the link for "Bradda Iz").

I learned about Iz late - I'm always behind, that's why our band plays music of the previous millennium, just can't keep up - when a bride-to-be asked our band to learn his "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" medley for her wedding. Bandmate Beth had the album (see above) and bandmate Ken made a bunch of calls till he found somebody who could lend him a baritone ukulele for the occasion. Iz died so young and so loved; there was such tenderness and sorrow in his voice, which will no doubt be heard 24/7 in Hawaii for those Marines, who also died so young and so loved.

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