It’s rare for a young musician to earn comparisons to the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis. It’s even harder to find an artist who has entirely redefined an instrument by his early 30’s. But Jake has already accomplished these feats, and more, in a little over a decade of playing and recording music. “The sounds this boyish 33 year old wrings from his ukulele – are unlike anything else in the history of
the instrument.”
Yes, the ukulele. In the hands of Shimabukuro, the traditional Hawaiian instrument of four strings and two octaves is stretched and molded into a complex and bold new force. On an album like his new Peace Love Ukulele, Jake and his “Uke” effortlessly (it seems) mix jazz, rock, classical, traditional Hawaiian music and folk, creating a sound that’s both technically masterful and emotionally powerful – and utterly unique in the music world.
