KIWAYA

On August 10th, 2009, Bill Tapia, 'ukulele legend, came to KIWAYA.

Bill was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on January 1st, 1908. When he was 7 years old, he got a ukulele for the first time.
From the time he was 10 years old, he has been a professional entertainer. In 1940's he moved to the west coast of the U.S.; he performed as a Jazz guitar player. Bill has played with Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, and a lot of other performers. Since 2001, Bill resumed playing the ukulele again, and the documentary movie "TO YOU SWEETHEART, ALOHA" was released in 2006. Bill is still active playing the ukulele, and this year (2009), was the first time for him to come to Japan for a ukulele concert tour, with performances in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka.
Audiences were surprised at his performance and enthusiastic about him.

On the last day in Japan, Bill visied KIWAYA with his staff.
KIWAYA welcomed him; Ryouji Okamoto (chairman of KIWAYA) & Kyoko Hara (president of KIWAYA) were very glad to have the chance to meet him. KIWAYA presented him the Rock Uke "Res.Polfas", which is an electrical- concert size ukulele as a remembrance for his visit to KIWAYA. Bill enjoyed playing some music with the Rock Uke "Res.Polfas" .
Bill is now 101 years old, and still performing. His legend is alive!

Bill Tapia Web site http://www.billtapia.com