In Concert at Jorgensen Thurs, Nov 29, at 7:30 p.m.
Jake Shimabukuro (she-ma-BOO-koo-row), the wide-ranging virtuoso of a four-string, two-octave instrument – the ukulele – will sweep onto the Jorgensen stage Thursday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in a stop on his Grand Ukulele Tour.
You gotta love a guy who started on his native land’s instrument at age 4 after his grandmother gave him his first uke and his mother gave him a lesson. “Everyone plays in Hawaii,” he says, “but I became obsessed with it.”
And now he has redefined the ukulele and exploded onto the pop stage in a little over a decade. Early recordings made him a household name in Hawaii, but then the YouTube phenomenon happened – a video of Shimabukuro playing George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in Central Park went viral, with 8 million views and counting.
Since then he has performed with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Bette Midler (before the Queen of England), Yo-Yo Ma, Cyndi Lauper, Ziggy Marley, Levon Helm, Les Paul and Jimmy Buffett, all the while fine-tuning his mastery on what some thought was a limited instrument before now. He’s played on The Late Show with Conan O’Brien, The Today Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! and was a featured artist on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
This fall he is visiting 30 cities showcasing his new album, Grand Ukulele, with original songs such as “Island Fever Blues,” a traditional Hawaiian song titled “Akaka Falls” and a unique track called “Missing Three,” performed with only three strings – created on a day when Jake was missing the third string on his instrument. Legendary producer/engineer Alan Parsons (Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, The Beatles’ Abbey Road) collaborates on the new album and brought a 29-piece orchestra and a big-name rock rhythm section into the mix. For now, the new songs were arranged to stand on their own, and Shimabukuro is touring solo but is interested in the idea of using orchestra in the future.
As for his YouTube life, Grand Ukulele yields reinterpretations, such as Sting’s “Fields of Gold,” with a Parsons cameo on keyboards, and Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
Shimabukuro’s last album, Peace Love Ukulele, started at No. 1 on the Billboard World Album Chart and showcased his eclectic sound – a mix of jazz, rock, classical, traditional Hawaiian and folk. His material ranged from Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” to “143 (Kelly’s Song),” inspired by the numeric pager code for “I Love You,” a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” and a warm tribute to Japanese-American soldiers from World War II called “Go for Broke.”
The New York Times describes his innovative style as buoyant with a “brisk proficiency” that embraces the limits of the uke. “He compensates with an adaptable combination of rhythmic strumming, classical-style finger-picking and fretboard tapping,” The Times expounds.
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who released a ukulele album of his own, says, “Jake is taking the instrument to a place that I can’t see anybody else catching up with him.”
Shimabukuro’s dominance on ukulele has been likened to that of Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis on their instruments of choice. He claims his other inspiration has come from Bruce Lee, for his experimental style in the martial arts, and Bill Cosby, for his simple connection to the audience.
Shimabukuro is a persuasive diplomat for his modest instrument. “If everyone played the ukulele, the world would be a better place,” he says.
This performance is sponsored by WNPR Radio.
Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Tickets are $36 and $34, with some discounts available. For tickets and information, call the Box Office 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Mon–Fri at 860.486.4226, or go to jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.
*Note: The attached image is (c) Danny Clinch. Additional images of Jake Shimabukuro are available in the 2012-2013 Press Photos Album located on the Jorgensen website: http://jorgensen.
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