BY KAREN BOSSICK

A ukulele guru is coming to town, and he is inviting the community to take part in a Ukulele Jam.

Jim D’Ville, who served as the news director for KSKI FM in the early 1990s, is poised to be in town for one day, and he is inviting anyone with a ukulele to play Uke with Community from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 2, at Ketchum Town Square.

D’Ville worked in local radio with his morning side kick the late Jeff Rew, aka Brother Al Pine, a professional jazz bassist and DJ.

Jim D’Ville leads a ukulele session.

D’Ville learned to play the five-string banjo during that time. But, after 10 year of practice, he felt he had not become a musician because he could play only memorized pieces of music. He was gifted a ukulele in 2000 and it changed his life.

He began studying song structure and developed a by-ear approach to playing the instrument. In 2009 he released his first Play Ukulele by Ear DVD lesson and was invited on the ukulele teaching circuit.

“Over the next 15 years, Jim became an internationally known ukulele player and workshop facilitator,” said Minette Broschofsky, a longtime Ketchum ukulele player. “And for the last eight years he has been a contributing editor for Ukulele Magazine.”