“Taking the ukulele to places it’s never
been before”
–San Francisco Chronicle

Hawaiian-born Jake Shimabukuro has transformed the four-string ukulele into an infinitely pliable musical vehicle, capable of generating everything from crunching, Hendrix-influnced rock to sensuously swinging jazz. Rocking back and forth on his heels, his wrist moving at a hummingbird blur, Shimabukuro coaxes an impossibly big sound out of the little instrument as he plays a mix of lyrical originals, pop tunes (“Here, There and Everywhere”) and American Songbook standards (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”).

Read program notes or Download program notes

Hawaiian-born Jake Shimabukuro has transformed the four-string ukulele into an infinitely pliable musical vehicle, capable of generating everything from crunching, Hendrix-influenced rock to sensuously swinging jazz. Rocking back and forth on his heels, his wrist moving at a hummingbird blur, Shimabukuro coaxes an impossibly big sound out of the little instrument as he plays a mix of lyrical originals, pop tunes (“Here, There and Everywhere”) and classic ballads (“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”).

Combining ingenuous boyish charm with the heart of an intrepid musical explorer, Shimabukuro has been riding a Pacific Rim wave since 2002, when he signed with Sony’s Epic Records International and earned a huge Japanese following through more than two dozen tours of the country. He became a hometown hero when his first album, Sunday Morning, won Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2003 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (Hawaii’s Grammy), where he was also named Favorite Entertainer of the Year, honors he repeated in 2004 with his second album Crosscurrent. But nothing spread his name faster than his blazing version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which became a YouTube sensation.

Banjo master Bela Fleck cemented the renegade ukulele star’s status in the unofficial but tight-knit confederation of maverick string players when he asked Shimabukuro to record on the Flecktones’ album Little Worlds, and then invited him to tour with the band as an opening act. While Shimabukuro doesn’t describe himself as a jazz musician, he’s an incisive improviser perfectly comfortable reharmonizing American Songbook standards.

Close program notes