By: Rick Landers
Jake Shimabukuro. Photo by Rick Landers.
Not only does Hawaiian-born ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro make his little four-string axe gently weep, he also makes it sweep, soar, and sing. In his hands, the ukulele roams the halls of folk, jazz, flamenco, rock, funk, the blues, bluegrass and classical music. Along with his astonishing talent, Jake’s winning smile and generous personality have been recognized by the State of Hawaii that has named him a Goodwill Ambassador for the island paradise.
Jake’s been a guest on the Conan O’Brien show, played the national anthem at Madison Square Garden, stirred ‘em up at the House of Blues and at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival. He’s played alongside such luminary musicians as Les Paul, Bela Fleck, Steve Lukather, Tommy Immanuel, Stanley Clarke, Chance, Stephen Bishop, Blues Traveler and John Hiatt.
Shimabukuro has received unanimous acclaim from New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine & NY Post. Next up is the current Rolling Stone “Best of Rock” issue that praises Shimabukuro as a “Ukulele Hero,” saying “one of the hottest axmen of the past few years doesn’t actually play guitar.” Writer Patrick Doyle called Shimabukuro’s cover of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” “jaw-dropping.”
Guitar International sat with Jake at the home of his record label, Hitchhike Records, in Kapahulua, Hawaii, where we talked about his career, his playing and ukuleles.
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Rick Landers: You seem to be attracting a lot of attention around the globe with your ukulele playing.
Jake Shimabukuro: We’ve played and toured in Japan, Guam, Saipan, Canada, and in the States. It’s really amazing, especially in Guam, there’s an amazing enthusiasm for the ukulele. They are very passionate about the instrument, a very profound interest. I actually went to a ukulele class. I didn’t know what to expect. There really is a lot of interest!
Rick: It looks like it could be a tough instrument to learn.
Jake Shimabukuro: It’s really not a difficult instrument to pick up and learn on your own, especially to learn chords. It would be great to have a teacher, but I think it’s one of those instruments that you can pick up and learn right away. It’s not like a violin or trumpet where you really do need lessons.
Rick: I saw the video of you playing George Harrison’s “My Guitar Gently Weeps” and I was surprised at how beautiful it sounded.
Jake Shimabukuro: Thank you! One of the differences, I think, is that the ukulele has a very unique sound. Most stringed instruments voicings are different. It’s a very light sound. You don’t really have any bass sounds to play with and you’re dealing with only two octaves. With the banjo, you have lower notes, the lowest is D I think. With the ukulele you’re not dealing with a wide range of sounds.
There are several types like the standard, a concert size, and the one I favor is the tenor. There’s also a size bigger called a baritone. The voicing is very similar to the guitar. A lot of the difference is how you approach the instrument and how you attack it. Some people use picks, but I prefer to use my fingers.
Rick: Like Mark Knopfler or Jeff Beck on the guitar?
Jake Shimabukuro: Yes, exactly. Jeff Beck can get so many different sounds just by using his fingers!
I learned you can get great tone with a pick, but it’s very hard to change your tone. I use the fleshy part of my fingers and the narrow part to get various tones. I always use to use picks until I was in high school when I got rid of them. I used thumb picks and then I realized that my tone changed and it became more of my own sound, like my own audio fingerprint.
Even when I strum chords, it sounds different. Jeff Beck’s playing is mind blowing! One of the great things about him is you can put him in any combination of music and he’ll just make it work. He’s incredible.
Rick: When did you learn to play?
Jake Shimabukuro: I first learned when I was about four years old. I’d strum chords and sing songs. Those were my earliest memories. It wasn’t until I was seven that I was taught to play.
Rick: Are you a Kamaka endorsee?
Yes. I’ve played a lot of different ukuleles and the Kamaka has the sound I like. This ukulele is a new one made by Kamaka. It’s Brazilian rosewood with Koa binding and abalone inlay and a mahogany neck. He put this one together and asked me what I thought of it. It’s a very punchy instrument. There’s another that I use when I record, but that’s in the shop right now.
Jake Shimabukuro. Photo courtesy of the Michael Bloom Agency.
Rick: I understand your family has some musical talent.
Jake Shimabukuro: Yeah. My dad played a little guitar and my mom plays the ukulele and gave me my first lesson. She’s a great singer too. My dad sings and my little brother who’s five years younger than me plays the ukulele. My whole family loves music. So, it’s a big part of my family. So, I’m pursuing a family passion. I’ve always liked traditional Hawaiian music and I dabble a bit with different tunes.
I started playing in my high school’s marching band. I played a snare drum and loved the rhythms. I’ve always liked to keep my mind open to different sounds. The drum sounds we played I tried to apply to the ukulele. I also realized that several instruments that I liked, like the guitar and violin, had the same notes and I tried mimicking the different sounds and techniques.
Rick: Do you try to replicate different songs for the ukulele?
Jake Shimabukuro: You know it’s impossible to do some of the songs exactly the same, but I was inspired or motivated to come up with different techniques or different ways of doing things, so I could create the sounds that I liked and enjoyed. I remember hearing Carlos Montoya playing some crazy flamenco guitar! I’ve worked on getting that kind of sound out of the ukulele. That really led me to the style that I play now.
The double-picking I use is like the guitar. And as I got deeper into it, I’d listen to a lot of horn players. When I heard their breathing or phrasing, I thought, “Wow!” So, I became very aware of my breathing when I played and I’d play until I ran out of breathe and I’d have to stop playing. So I had to get that concept down. It really helped me a lot to make me more conversational during my solos.
And like a piano player, how they let notes taper off, the way they use their fingers to get tone from a note by rolling of the key. I try to do things like that with the strings. The way the string vibrates, it’s completely different. I get so obsessed or I’d watch other players’ amazing technique, watch what they’re doing and see if I could apply it to the ukulele.
Rick: Over and over until you got it right?
Jake Shimabukuro: Yeah. I just kept working at it. When you try for the first time, you can tell whether it’s going to be possible or not.
Rick: What about building speed?
Jake Shimabukuro: I found that I was always bending my elbow. But, when I would drum I’d only use my wrist. So when I started adapting that motion to the ukulele it worked. It was really weird at first, but then after a while it just came natural. It also helped keeping my fingers next to the strings. So it all just came together. [Jake rhythmically slaps his uke and does a rapid fire “Miserlou”.] I also worked on my proper guitar picking. I usually play with my thumb and three fingers. Sometimes I’ll use a fourth, but not very often.
Rick: When did you begin performing professionally?
Jake Shimabukuro: I didn’t start performing until maybe 5 or 6 years ago. This is all pretty new. I think it was in 1998, when I was 21 years old. I don’t know where all the time went! [Laughs]
I’m from this area (Waikiki, Hawaii), so I’d just go up the street to a small coffee shop and play every Friday night. A few people would show up and then they’d come back, sometimes with friends. One day I was asked to play a wedding! That was a big deal for me.
Jake Shimaburkuro – Photo courtesy of the Michael Bloom Agency.
Photo courtesy of the Michael Bloom Agency.
Rick: Have you toured a lot?
Jake Shimabukuro: We’ve toured the States and Japan several times. My record label is based in Japan. It’s been really nice going there. I’m an official goodwill ambassador for Hawaii, so when I go to Japan and other places I’m also a spokesperson to help tourism to Hawaii.
Let’s see. I’ve been to Japan, Guam, Saipan, Europe, the Midwest and Canada, Nebraska. Places I never thought I’d be playing ukulele. Indianapolis, where I think some people look at me like wondering if I’m Chinese or Japanese? [Laughs]
And Nashville, the kind of places I’ve always wanted to go. Also some places on the west coast and there are a lot of Hawaiian communities there, so that’s kind of nice to have that kind of support.
I was born and raised in Hawaii and you hear Hawaiian music all over the place from the time you’re a baby or toddler. It’s really one of the unique things and it’s got a certain kind of groove to it. Just like playing reggae, that certain groove. Like reggae drummers, the way they play is incredible. Really amazing. So, it’s one of the things that I’m glad that I was born and raised there. I’m glad to have that background.
Rick: Do you talk about the history of the ukulele during shows?
Jake Shimabukuro: No, I usually just play. I have taught seminars and in those I’ll go into the ukulele’s background. It’s from Portugal originally.
Rick: What other instruments do you play?
Jake Shimabukuro: The ukulele is pretty much the only thing I play. With guitar I mostly play rhythm and strum. With the ukulele I do use some effects like wah, reverb, and fuzz tone. On the Dragon CD I had a guitar player on one song play electric guitar. It turned out okay. I played acoustic.
Rick: You’ve been known the throw yourself into the audience. What can audiences expect at a Jake Shimabukuro show?
Jake Shimabukuro: Yeah! I just like to have fun. I’ve jumped off the stage a few times in Japan. I have a trio and a five piece band and I also do a solo. All three are completely different. The five piece is more heavy rock, harder. With the solo shows I have more variety and I’ll do some covers and play them my own way, ukulele style. But, it’s all about having fun for me and sometimes I like to surprise and do something crazy.
