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by jon bosworth
jaxvillain@yahoo.com
What: Jake Shimabukuro, Ukulele Virtuoso
Where: The Florida Theatre
When: March 7th
Jake Shimabukuro has been playing the Ukulele since he was 4 years old.
“I got into it because my mom played and then I just couldn’t put it down.”
In Hawaii a ukulele player may not be as unusual as it is in most places, but it still can’t be all that common. Regardless of how common the instrument is where Jake lives in Honolulu, how he plays it is anything but common. Since getting national attention he has caught the ear of some of the greats, from Jimmy Buffet to Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. He is even called the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele.
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“I showed that to my parents and they loved it. My friends got a kick out of it. Normally you couldn’t use ‘Jimi Hendrix’ and ukulele in the same sentence, but actually Jimi Hendrix’s first instrument was a ukulele.”
Jake is modest and he says everything with a nervous laugh, but when you hear him play, be it his frenetic hard rockin’ numbers or his delicate cover of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, he does things with this tiny instrument that are baffling.
“I think the instrument fits my personality a lot. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a friendly instrument… A five year-old can pick one up and strum out some chords and an eighty year-old can pick it up and play a tune. Everyone can relate to it. It’s such a simple instrument that it is what it is.”
With Jake it isn’t a matter of a musical virtuoso that can play any instrument well and he took up the ukulele to have an instrument that no one else was as good at, he’s only played ukulele all along. He has never had an interest in any other instrument. Jake started out playing traditional Hawaiian music with a local band, putting out a couple of albums. Then “things started changing when I branched off and became a soloist. I began experimenting with different kinds and styles of music. I started pushing the limitations of the instrument. Then I found there was an interest in ukulele music. I started touring in Japan and they really enjoyed it.”
Before he knew it his career had snowballed into regular gigs across the globe. He has since shared the stage with the likes of Blues Traveler, Buffet, Bela Fleck, and he is even on Ziggy Marley’s latest release. Not only has he shared the stage with some of his favorites, but he played Conan O’Brien last year and then Carson Daily more recently, so he’s not far from becoming a household name.
“The Internet has played an amazing role in exposing people to what I do.”
In fact, if you Google Jake Shimabukuro you will find several YouTube videos of him performing. After watching him squeeze so many sounds out of his small instrument, you’ll see why these videos were forwarded all over the web.
“I enjoy it because it keeps me on my toes. It’s hard to keep it interesting when it’s just you and your instrument [on stage]. It’s a big challenge to keep the whole audience interested with four strings, but it keeps me innovative and creative. It’s easy to fall into the trap of playing a cover song and sticking to the melody so everyone recognizes it, but I try to stay on my toes and find at least one lick or chord voicing or harmonic that sets it apart from another arrangement.”
Jake’s friendly tone and humble demeanor is endearing. He talks about the great friends he has been making on the road and the intimidating challenge of taking the stage alone with only a ukulele in front of an audience full of people expecting a big show.
“It’s a really intense feeling, like nothing else I’ve ever experienced, but it’s a rush too, because you don’t know what the audience is going to think. One of the great things about playing the ukulele is that from the beginning people don’t have high expectations for what you will do. When people see the ukulele they don’t think much, but I try to take it a notch up and leave them feeling surprised.”
And you can count on that. Mixing every style, from bluegrass to flamenco to classical, jazz, rock, and even pop, Jake effectively shakes it all out of that tiny instrument. He enjoys making it sound like everything from a harp to a banjo to add depth and color to his performances. See Jake Shimabukuro live at the Florida Theatre on March 7th and take in the spectacle for yourself. Tickets are $21 and you can get them through the box office by calling the Theatre at 904.355.2787.
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