REINVENTING THE UKE. Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro released his eighth album, Live, this spring. The CD features the best recordings from his live performances in the U.S. and abroad. (Photo/ Hisashi Uchida, courtesy of Hitchhike Records)

From The Asian Reporter, V19, #21 (June 2, 2009), page 13.

By Jake Shimabukuro

Hitchhike Records, 2009

CD, 17 tracks, $15.50

By Allison Rupp

At the mention of the ukulele, even the most ardent music lovers picture Hawaiian girls in grass skirts strumming a high-pitched, toy-like instrument as ocean waves crash behind them. Jake Shimabukuro, who has easily cornered the "ukulele pop" music market, dispels this image once again with his eighth album, Live, released this spring by Hitchhike Records.

The Hawaii-born artist’s lightning-quick fingers and originality on the unusual instrument have gained him a reputation in Hawaii, Japan, and the U.S. as a ukulele virtuoso since his first solo album, Sunday Morning, debuted in 2002. Following last year’s tour of those countries, the clean-cut, boyish 32-year-old compiled what he views to be the best of his live recordings.

Live is comprised of 12 original songs by Shimabukuro and five covers, including Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" and The Beatles’ "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." From the first strains of Shimabukuro’s amplified tenor ukulele ("uke" for short), it is apparent Live is no hula album.

The instrument sounds similar to a guitar in its range and tone, despite the fact that the uke has only four strings and two octaves (a guitar, by comparison, can reach four and a half to five octaves). The artists’ choice of a tenor ukulele allows more volume and a deeper bass sound than the standard soprano ukulele most people are familiar with.

Thus Shimabukuro, who picked up his first ukulele at age four, can experiment with a variety of fun sounds on tracks such as "Let’s Dance: Prelude," which at times evokes a classical Spanish guitar or even a piano. His repertoire varies greatly, from the classical "Two-Part Invention No. 4 in D Minor" by Bach to Shimabukuro’s original "Me & Shirley T.," a light-hearted, toe-tapping tune that captures the fizzy grenadine drink he loved as a kid.

Shimabukuro’s uke tunes appeal to large audiences in part because of his ability to harness the instrument’s naturally saccharine tone, producing a variety of sounds from the sweetly melodic to the loud and aggressive. This dexterity allows him to try songs such as "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," a recording that has gained Shimabukuro a devoted following on YouTube — three million users have viewed a video of him strumming a pitch-perfect version of the famous tune in Central Park in 2006.

Not all pop songs make the crossover to ukulele as smoothly though. "Thriller" falls flat during most of the track, while its refrain sounds small and tinny — exactly as one would expect on a ukulele.

With two appearances on "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" under his belt, as well as collaborations with artists such as Jimmy Buffett, Ziggy Marley, and Yo-Yo Ma, it seems Shimabukuro has hit his stride as a performer. Trading in horn-rimmed glasses and Hawaiian prints for t-shirts and Converse sneakers, he has cultivated an emo-rock style in recent years that is re-creating the ukulele’s image.

"I’ve always wanted to release a live CD because there’s something magical about capturing the energy of the audience during a performance," he says of the new album. "My favorite moments are the spontaneous ones of laughter and joy between songs."

After shows in Eugene and Seattle in April, and other U.S. venues in May and June, Shimabukuro’s world tour takes him to Scandinavia and for several months to Japan, where ukulele music has been adopted with enthusiasm. He won’t return to the Pacific Northwest until early next year. In the meantime, let Live fill you in on the ukulele’s (and Shimabukuro’s) ever more promising future.

To learn more, or to purchase the Live CD, visit <www.jakeshimabukuro.com>.