Uncle Jim

XM Nation Awards 2005: Best New Kids Artist
#1 on XM KiDS Radio twice in 2004! (“Funky As a Diaper”)
#1 on XMKiDS Radio in 2007! (“I’ve Got a Butt”)
Children's Music Web Award
iParenting Media "Hot Product" Award

Uncle Jim's Mission is: Finding Joy and Wonder in Everyday Life.
The term "Uncle Jim" is not a figurative one; Jim has twenty nieces and nephews and he knows what kids like!
Mayer's first children's CD, "Uncle Jim – Funky As A Diaper" (Mailboat Records) reached #1 on XM KiDS Radio (twice!) and is the recipient of an iParenting "Hot Product" Media Award and a Children's Music Web Award. All of the material on “Funky As A Diaper” has been child tested and some of the songs have even been co-written with Jim’s nieces and nephews. Joining Uncle Jim on "Funky" are former Arrested Development singer Nadirah Shakoor, Grammy award-winning saxophonist Jeff Coffin of The Dave Matherws Band, as well as fellow Coral Reefer band members, creating richly textured music that's designed for adults as well.

A quick peek behind the talent and creativity of Uncle Jim reveals why he was voted Best New XM Kids Artist in the XM Nation Awards 2005. Jim’s talent shines on both electric and upright acoustic bass, playing with performers ranging from jazz legend Mose Allison to James Taylor to Ringo Starr. As a member of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band since 1989, Mayer has been writing, recording and performing worldwide with Buffett.

In addition to appearing on numerous television shows, some of Mayer's career highlights have been: touring with and opening for The Moody Blues and Chicago as a member of PM (1989), performing as a Coral Reefer band member at President Clinton's Inauguration (1992) and President Clinton's White House Birthday Celebration (1995), performing with Joni Mitchell in a benefit for the New Orleans Homeless (1994), performing with Robert Greenidge, Michael Utley and Grammy winning artist Ralph MacDonald at the Trinidad-Tabago Jazz Festival (1996), and being featured on the XM Kids Rumpus Room Concert Series.
Mayer has played on over thirty studio recordings. Some recent recording credits include upcoming CD releases from Little Feat and JD Souther. And in his spare time, (spare time, what's that?) he's engineered and produced eleven CDs in addition to his own.
Jim resides in Nashville where he works continually to improve the lives of children and their parents with music and videos. He loves dogs, climbing trees, and chunky peanut butter.

Uncle Jim presents a compelling anti-bullying program entitled “IM4U” (I’m for you).

In the presentation, Uncle Jim uses songs, personal stories, questions, and pamphlets for discussion to build awareness and educate children about the following principles:

• Empowerment through RESPONSIBILITY
• Empowerment through OBSERVATION
• Empowerment through CHOICE
• Empowerment through KNOWLEDGE

Uncle Jim asks the essential question, “What can we do to make school a better place for all kids?” He guides children through the three R’s of bullying: recognize, refuse, and report.

Using humorous songs and personal stories, Jim helps children see that the same guy who has performed on the White House lawn and in stadiums across America is human. He is flawed and has to make the best out of each and every day, just as they do.

Through success principles based on the development of a baby to toddler and beyond, Uncle Jim illustrates how each of us is empowered today if we only behave like a baby trying to walk. When we fall, we get up. When we don’t know, we ask. Through simple and understandable examples, and engaging music, Jim brings the real world home to real students who begin to understand that their teachers are real too, that we all have options and we all have the power of choice.

Uncle Jim has traveled the world living his mission of finding joy and wonder in everyday life. Through this work, Jim has found an audience in every population including gifted children, special needs children, terminally ill children, and abused children at all age levels – pre-school to junior college.

Jim’s own family includes twenty nieces and nephews who literally turned to their uncle Jim for guidance on building character and becoming better citizens, all while having fun. Through these personal experiences, Jim Mayer can become an “Uncle Jim” to the child in all of us, answering tough questions and fostering a sense of teamwork between students and teachers, parents and children in an innovative, kind, and fun manner.

“IM4U” is a refreshing and positive anti-bullying program, guaranteed to cause children to ponder, reflect, and find empowerment in their everyday lives.