UKULELE MASTER. Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings is a compelling portrait of the inspiring and inventive musician whose virtuoso skills on the ukulele have transformed all previous notions of the instrument’s potential. The film is a fitting tribute to Shimabukuro’s exceptional contribution to expanding the limits — and the audience — of the two-octave instrument. (Photo/Rahoul Ghose/Public Broadcasting Service)

From The Asian Reporter, V23, #09 (May 6, 2013), page 12.

Directed by Tadashi Nakamura

Airs Sunday, May 12 at 2:30pm

on Oregon Public Broadcasting

By Maileen Hamto

The Asian Reporter

Two octaves: That is the melodic range of the ukulele, in its four strings. At first glance, it is hardly an instrument worthy of inspiring a grand master — a virtuoso — to seek out the boundaries of the instrument’s possibilities. Yet, that is exactly what Jake Shimabukuro has become in our lifetime: a musical genius who has single-handedly redefined the dimensions and amplitude of the four-stringed uke.

Tadashi Nakamura, a celebrated up-and-coming filmmaker, continues his inquiry into the Japanese-American experience with his latest release, Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings. The documentary explores the identities, influences, and experiences that continue to shape Shimabukuro’s craft, and marks his evolution as an artist from the early days of playing traditional Hawaiian music and island standards in restaurants in his native Hawaii to sold-out shows in concert halls around the world — from Tokyo to Los Angeles and all points in between.

Life on Four Strings is absent the self-congratulatory air that is typical of the singer-songwriter profile genre. Throughout the film, we see and hear a self-effacing Shimabukuro, humble and grateful to everyone who has inspired his music and launched his career, from his high school music teacher to the craftsman who designed and built his first custom ukulele. He credits his deep Hawaiian roots for the high degree of respect he has for the instrument and his ability to expand on the ukulele’s known potential.

"Outside of Hawaii, people didn’t take the instrument seriously," says Shimabukuro. "In Hawaii, we’ve always respected the instrument. It’s a big part of our culture."

The film touches on Shimabukuro’s relationships with the women in his life, including his mother Carol, who gave him his first ukulele lessons when he was only four years old. There are the challenges of maintaining a long-distance relationship as a touring musician. His business manager, Kasuza Flanagan, saw the limitless possibilities of Shimabukuro’s talent, and has been working tirelessly to deliver his music to a worldwide audience. We see him paying it forward, as he visited Flanagan’s hometown in Sendai, Japan in the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

There aren’t many touring single ukulele players who don’t sing, and Shimabukuro’s evolution as an artist has taken him full circle. Early in his career, he played uke with the band Pure Heart. Signing his first solo recording contract in Japan, he admits to feeling the pressure of making the ukulele really "sing." He played very fast, and his first compositions were aided by an electric guitar amplified by distortion pedals to change the sounds of the instrument.

"I realized I was walking a very fine line with being disrespectful to the instrument. I was trying to make the ukulele something else," he says. "I remember being very insecure without my effects."

It wasn’t long before Shimabukuro changed the course — and the pace — of his music in an effort to stay faithful to its sound. "I decided that if I want to manipulate the sound of the instrument, I’m gonna do it with my hands, not electronically."

And the audiences loved it. Unplugged, Shimabukuro became an instant sensation when his rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" became one of the first YouTube videos to spread virally across the globe. Twenty-million-plus views later, Shimabukuro was making guest performances with late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien and other mainstream, mainland shows.

The film is a fitting tribute to Shimabukuro’s exceptional contribution to expanding the limits — and the audience — of the two-octave instrument. "[Its limitations] challenge me to really expand on other aspects of music. I never see the limitations as something that would hold me back," he says.

Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings airs Sunday, May 12 at 2:30pm on Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). The film repeats Sunday, May 13 at 8:00pm and Wednesday, May 15 at 5:00am on OPB Plus. To verify showtimes, call (503) 293-1982 or visit <www.opb.org>. To learn more, visit <www.lifeonfourstrings.com>.