Herb Ohta aka Ohta-san is an American

Ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

player born in 1934 in Hawaii who has recorded solo, as a group and with Andre Popp on the

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

label, which was co-owned by

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

and Jerry Moss. He is also known as "Ohta-san" in Japan and other Asian countries, which is a title of respect for the musician.

Biography

Ohta was a boy when he was taught his first three chords on the ukulele by his mother. He entered an amateur contest at age 9 and won the $10 first prize. Three years later he met Eddie Kamae on the beach, at the time considered the best ukulele player in the world, and became his student. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps and served ten years from 1953 to 1963. While stationed in Japan as an interpreter, Ohta made his first recordings and played a number of events. He was a guest on

the Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

in 1955. In 1964 he succeeded in having a hit song with the single ''Sushi'' and signed a five-year contract with Decca Records. Among Ohta-san's students was

Roy Sakuma Roy Sakuma (born 1948) is a Hawaiian ukulele teacher and founder of the Ukulele Festival, the largest annual ukulele concert in the world. His support and teaching over the last forty years has helped fuel the ukulele's resurgence in Hawaii and i ...

, who founded the Annual Hawaiian Ukulele Festival. He is recognized by many as the world's most diversified Ukulele player. He has recorded music that is categorized as Pop Music, Romantic Music,

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, Traditional

Hawaiian music The music of Hawaii includes an array of traditional and popular styles, ranging from native Hawaiian folk music to modern rock and hip hop. Styles like slack-key guitar are well known worldwide, while Hawaiian-tinged music is a frequent part ...

and with

orchestras An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

. He was inducted into the Ukulele Hall of Fame in 2006. The first collaboration for Herb Ohta and Andre Popp was released in the US by

. The album entitled "Song For Anna", was released in 1973 and sold more than 6 million copies internationally. The single of “Song For Anna” peaked at number 12 in Australia. The

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

became a blended and solo voice with the orchestrations that appealed to the romantic side of music. The album was followed by another titled "Feelings" in 1975. He has recorded numerous albums from traditional Hawaiian to Classical, Pop and other genres. In 2001, Herb Ohta joined forces with

Lyle Ritz Lyle Joseph Ritz (January 10, 1930 – March 3, 2017) was an American musician, known for his work on ukulele and bass (both double bass and bass guitar). His early career in jazz as a ukulele player made him a key part of the Hawaii music scene ...

and released an album titled ''Night of Ukulele Jazz Live at McCabe's.'' The two were considered top performers, but had managed to miss each other for decades, though both were familiar with the other's works. Both played Martin Ukuleles for the recording, Ohta playing a standard size, and Ritz a tenor, which he switched off with a tenor Ko'olau.MASAMI Ukulele Jam Selections, ''Ukulele Duo''
/ref>

Discography

*Soul Time in Hawaii, 1966 *Ohta-San's Pacific Potpourri, 1970 *Song For Anna, 1973 - AUS #55 *Feelings, 1975 *The Wonderful World of the Ukulele, JVC, 2000 *Night of Ukulele Jazz Live at McCabe's (Lyle Ritz & Herb Ohta), 2001 *Bodysurfing, Roy Sakuma Productions, 2004 ASIN: B000GAPM52 *Swing Time Ohta-San Ukulele Jazz Best Selection, with Herb Ohta, JVC Japan, 2004 ASIN: B00024Z6NA *Ukulele Bossa Nova (tribute to Antonio Carlos Jobim), Victor Entertainment, Inc., 2007 ASIN: B002OY7OXQ *Cool Touch- Ohta-San "Herb Ohta" Melodies Vol. 2 *Autumn Leaves, with Lyle Ritz, Victor Entertainment, Inc., 2005 ASIN: B002OY9K5G *Bach: Ukulele Bach, 2010 *Ukulele Legacy - Herb Ohta,Jr. & Ohta-San, 2012 *The Strains of the Ohta-san's Ukulele SIDE A, 2015 *The Strains of the Ohta-san's Ukulele SIDE B, 2015 *Herb Ohta with Friends Images of Hawaii Vol. 1, 2015 *Herb Ohta with Friends Images of Hawaii Vol. 2, 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohta, Herb 1934 births Living people Hawaii people of Japanese descent Musicians from Hawaii Hawaiian ukulele players United States Marine Corps personnel American military personnel of Japanese descent Japanese-American instrumentalists