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“Aloha. Welcome to the Dakota.”
The first and last words of the greeting held a nice symbiosis and would point to an amalgamation of cultures and musical styles as Jake Shimabukuro strolled up to the mic.
Shimabukuro is a native Hawaiian, but is a descendant of Japanese and Okinawan immigrants. His first song of the evening was a Japanese folk song, “Sakura Sakura.” His instrument was the Hawaiian ukulele. Normally, the song is played on the koto, a thirteen-stringed Japanese instrument. But Shimabukuro’s talent has always been to take songs reserved for more complicated instruments and musically translate them to a four-string instrument most see as a novelty.
At age four Shimabukuro was given his first ukulele by his mother who was also his first instructor. He will readily admit that it’s an easy instrument to play. Immediately, with three learned chords, he could play 300 Hawaiian songs. But there was a catch. He couldn’t sing. And the ukulele is mainly used for strumming and singing. So he turned a weakness into an exploration as he demonstrated in his next two songs, moving the ukulele towards Spanish guitar, then renaissance harp.
Shimabukuro was then joined on stage by Jackson Waldhoff, a high school friend and accomplished bass player. Then they began to play songs that have made him famous around the world. In fact, his whole career can be attributed to one viral moment.
In 2006 Shimabukuro was a popular musician in his home state, but when a fan uploaded a video of him playing his interpretation of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” he became an overnight sensation for he found a voice in his tiny guitar.
There were plenty of covers at the Dakota. There was Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” sounding like a sweet lullaby. There was Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” which turned into a sing-a-long. Then a medley of “We Will Rock You” moving into “Smoke on the Water” finishing with John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom.” (Shimabukuro provided the: “How, how, how, how.”)
Then there were not one, but three Beatles songs. “Eleanor Rigby” and “Hey Jude” were straightforward and lovely. Then the showpiece “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” starting in a languid manner before moving into a Spanish guitar bravado, then arena rock guitar heroics, picking up the pace to a speed that could not be maintained, but he held on to the roar of the sold-out room.
Almost twenty years after his first internet hit, Shimabukuro is still exploring. In fact, he is coming out with a blues album with none other than Mick Fleetwood. Over the years he has been given the moniker “The Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele.” Just listen to “Rollin’ N Tumblin’” and see if he doesn’t make a case.
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| dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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