By JoJo Yang

From YouTube to Conan to the Japanese Academy Awards, Jake Shimabukuro takes the ukulele to a whole new level.

For those who haven't heard Jake Shimabukuro's work, it's so pretty you've just got to listen. Japanese American, born and raised in Hawaii, Shimabukuro began playing the ukulele at the age of four: his mother, his first teacher; traditional Hawaiian melodies, his beginning repertoire. 

He had played in bands throughout high school, learned drums in his high school marching band, and dabbled in some guitar and piano, but learning music theory was what really expanded his skills in playing and composing: "When you understand what makes a chord and why certain notes sound good," Shimabukuro explains, "[that was when] I started thinking outside of just the ukulele, and I could start incorporating more musical concepts."

 "Most kids start on the uke and then progress to the guitar," says Shimabukuro. "I guess I just never graduated from the uke!"

So a hobby turned into a couple gigs at private parties, which turned into a few albums recorded with his first band, Pure Heart, which led to his signing with Sony Music in Japan about five years ago.  "That's when I realized maybe I can do this for the rest of my life," Shimabukuro remembers. "It's my passion, and I feel very blessed to be able to do what I love and make a living out of it."

Besides becoming a Sony artist, Jake points out some other bright spots along the path of his music career. In 2005, he made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. And it was around that time that the phenomenon, for which we probably know him best, began circulating the web: in the infamous YouTube clip.

So how did the YouTube clip of Shimabukuro's cover of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" come about?

"I was in New York for the first time three years ago, and there was a TV show called Midnight Ukulele Disco and they wanted to interview me," recalls Shimabukuro. "So we met up in Central Park, they asked me maybe half a dozen questions and asked me to play a song…. So I propped myself up on this rock, played this tune I was working on at the time, and that was it!"

About six months later, Shimabukuro started receiving emails from people saying they loved this clip of him playing in Central Park. "And I was like what? There's only one time I played in Central Park," laughs Shimabukuro. "It was pretty amazing."

Plenty of people have been one-hit wonders on YouTube, but Shimabukuro is definitely not one of them.  He's able to combine elements of jazz, blues, classical, bluegrass, folk, and rock into his work on the ukulele. Most recently he's toured with Jimmy Buffet, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and Tommy Emmanuel all over the US, Japan, and Australia. 

He finds inspiration not only in fellow musicians, but also, believe it or not, in Bruce Lee. (Jake's younger brother is named after Bruce and one of his albums was titled "Dragon" as a tribute.)

"I just loved his philosophy and how he approached his martial arts," says Shimabukuro. "I borrowed a lot of his philosophy in how I approach music in the same way he approached his art form."

This includes drawing from the strengths of different types of art, from martial arts to musical genres, and being efficient with energy and power: "On the ukulele, there's only four strings, about an inch and a half of space. There's no need to strum way up here or way down there."

As for his fans, they cover quite a range of ages and backgrounds. As a Japanese American and Sony Music Japan artist, he's got a loyal following in Japan. As a Hawaiian ukulele innovator, he's got surfer fans in Hawaii. As a musician producing beautiful strumming melodies in all sorts of genres, he's got everyone hooked. 

But he thinks it's another credit to the ukulele:  "I think a lot of people can relate to this instrument. It's not intimidating. You can be a four year old or an eighty-four year old, and you're not afraid to pick it up for the first time.  You won't see a senior citizen suddenly wanting to play the cello, but with the uke, there's instant gratification. Also it's really easy on the fingers, and you can take it everywhere. You don't see anyone carrying a cello to the beach."

At the end of 2007, Shimabukuro released a new EP, My Life.  It consists of six covers of songs from Sarah McLachlan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and Cyndi Lauper -- all which have some sentimental value in Jake's life. His take on these songs are touching, especially the quietly reminiscent "In My Life" from The Beatles and the sweetly upbeat classic of his school years, "Time after Time."

Shimabukuro also released his first film score, the soundtrack to the Japanese film Hula Girls, for which he has received acclaim from international film festivals and received the Japanese Academy Award for Best Sound Recording. It doesn't take seeing the movie to appreciate the soundtrack -- which is, I believe, the test of any good soundtrack. Especially notable was the title track, "Hula Girls," with three different versions: acoustic, English with vocalist Jennifer Perri, and Japanese with Miho Teruya.  It's a lovely melody in all three versions.  Also notable is the poignant "Heartbeat," which really does make your heart skip a beat. 

For more information about Jake Shimabukuro and his upcoming shows, click on his official website here.

Published: Friday, February 8, 2008