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Jake Shimabukuro

Ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro has taken the four-string, two-octave instrument to places no one could have imagined, ranging freely across the music spectrum from jazz, blues, and funk to bluegrass, classical, flamenco, and folk. Emerging in the early 2000s, Shimabukuro became well-known in Japan and Hawaii and found international success in 2006 after posting a virtuosic rendition of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" online, which went viral. Since then, he has released dozens of solo albums -- his 2020 effort Trio reached number one on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart -- soundtracks, and collaborations with well-known musicians, including Jake & Friends (2021) and Grateful (2023). Born November 3, 1976, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Shimabukuro was given his first ukulele lesson by his mother when he was only four years old. Fascinated by the uke, he eventually began playing regularly at a local Honolulu café. He was a founding member of Pure Heart, and played on the trio's first two albums before leaving to form Colon. In 2001 Shimabukuro began his solo career, releasing Elaine Maru (In Memory Of) on Surfside Records that same year. He signed with Epic in 2002 and issued Sunday Morning on the label a year later, following it with Skyline in 2003. In 2005 he found an international distributor for his own label, Hitchhike Records, and began issuing his own music, including Crosscurrent, Dragon, My Life, and the much-lauded Gently Weeps, which included a haunting version of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." By that time, Shimabukuro had completely rewritten the book on the possibilities of the ukulele, and his skill on the instrument attracted the ear and attention of Béla Fleck, who has since used Shimabukuro as both an opening act and as a sit-in guest with the Flecktones. Shimabukuro's 2011 release, Peace, Love, Ukulele, topped Billboard's World Albums chart, and he followed it with Grand Ukulele, produced by Alan Parsons with orchestrations by Kip Winger (and recorded live with no overdubs), in the fall of 2012. Three years later, in October 2015, Shimabukuro returned with Travels, a collection less ambitious in scope than its predecessor but still quite varied. His next project, 2016's Nashville Sessions, was the product of only six days' worth of recordings, reflecting original compositions written on the spot and played with a new trio Shimabukuro assembled for the set. He then returned to the same Nashville studio, expanding his recent trio to a quartet for 2018's The Greatest Day, which offered a mix of originals and well-known covers like the Zombies' "Time of the Season" and the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby." Shimabukuro's next outing came in the form of a trio album. Released in 2019, Trio featured bassist Nolan Verner and guitarist Dave Preston playing an eclectic mix of originals, pop covers, and Hawaiian music. The LP peaked at number one on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. The collaborative Jake & Friends followed in 2021 and saw Shimabukuro team up with Lyle Lovett, Bette Midler, Jack Johnson, Jon Anderson (Yes), Warren Haynes (the Allman Brothers Band), Moon Taxi, Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel) and Michael McDonald (the Doobie Brothers), among others. Later that year, he was nominated by President Joe Biden to be a Member of the National Council on the Arts. Shimabukuro's collaborative streak continued in 2023 with the release of Grateful, a deeply personal project focusing on partnerships with Hawaii-based artists like Henry Kapono, Kawika Kahiapo, Brother Noland, Raiatea Helm, Justin Kawika Young, Del Beazley, John Cruz, and Kimié Miner.
© Steve Leggett & James Christopher Monger /TiVo
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35 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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