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Jake Shimabukuro (born November 3, 1976 in Honolulu, Hawaiokinai) is a ukulele virtuoso known for his lightning-fast fingers. His music combines elements of jazz, rock, and pop.
HistoryA fifth generation Okinawan American, Jake initially gained attention in Hawaiokinai in 1998 as a member of Pure Heart, a trio with Lopaka Colon (percussion), and Jon Yamasato (guitar)
. Jake was working at a music store in Honolulu when the group released their eponymous debut album, featuring a sound and style somewhat similar to the Kaokinaau Jake and the Boys. Their debut album won them four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (the Hawaiian counterpart of the Grammy Awards): Island Contemporary Album of the Year, Most Promising Artist(s), Album of the Year and Favorite Entertainment of the Year, the latter determined by unrestricted public vote.
The following year, they released Pure Heart 2, which earned them another Hoku award for Island Contemporary Album of the year. Jon informed the others that he was quitting the group via a newspaper story that ran in the Honolulu Advertiser on Thanksgiving Day, and Shimabukuro and Colon formed another group, Colon, which they named in honor of Colon's father, famed percussionist Augie Colon. The new guitarist was Guy Cruz, younger brother of the Kaokinaau Crater Boys' Ernie Cruz, Jr., and John Cruz.
Colon won the Hoku Award for Favorite Entertainer of the Year in 2001, after which Jake decided to pursue a solo career.
Shimabukuro's mother gave him a ukulele at age four, and he was hooked from the first chord he played. As a solo artist after the break-up of Colon he experimented with using effect pedals to make new sounds that no one would associate with a tiny, four-stringed, two-octave, "novelty" instrument. His amplified riffs gave him the title "Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele". Internet videos of Shimabukuro's cover of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" have received over 4 million views, and he released a studio version of that song on his latest CD, "Gently Weeps."
He has released an instructional DVD called "Play Loud Ukulele." Shimabukuro has toured with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Jimmy Buffett and most recently in Australia with Tommy Emmanuel.
His influences include Eddie Van Halen, George Harrison, Yngwie Malmsteen, Bruce Lee and Carlos Santana. In 2006, Shimabukuro composed the music to the Japanese film Hula Girls, which featured hula dancing and a Hawaiian spa resort as its primary theme and setting respectively.
PersonalShimabukuro stopped using his trademark horn rimmed glasses in 2007 and made other dramatic changes to his appearance.
MediaDiscography Pure Heart- "Pure Heart" (1998)
- "Pure Heart 2" (1999)
- "Pure Heart 2.5 Christmas" (1999)
Colon- "The Groove Machine" (2000)
Solo]
- Sunday Morning (2002)
- Crosscurrent (2003)
- Walking Down Rainhill (2004)
- Dragon (2005)
- Gently Weeps (2006)
- My Life (2007)
SinglesContributions- Song of America (2007) - "Stars & Stripes Forever"
DVD- Million Miles Away (Jake Shimabukuro)
- Play Loud Ukulele
Television Japan - NHK Ongaku Yume Club (??ˇ????) - May 12 2005
- 57th Kohaku Uta Gassen - December 31 2006, alongside Rimi Natsukawa
- NHK Live in Shibuya: Instrumental Music Concert, February 22, 2007
USA - KHON-TV, Honolulu, Jake Live in Japan - September 2003
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien - December 2005
- Last Call with Carson Daly - February 2007
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien - February 2008
Australia - Spicks and Specks, ABC TV, 24 September 2008
InstrumentsJake plays a custom-made 4 string tenor ukulele from Kamaka Ukulele. Jake uses a Line 6 Pod XT Live, and Zaolla Cables.
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Jake Shimabukuro
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