Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro has expanded the reach of his compact four-string instrument across an unusually broad stylistic terrain, encompassing jazz, blues, funk, bluegrass, classical, flamenco, and folk. He first drew notice in Japan and Hawaii during the early 2000s, then achieved wider recognition in 2006 when a technically dazzling interpretation of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” appeared online and quickly spread. In the years that followed he issued numerous solo projects, among them the 2020 album Trio, which ascended to the top of Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, along with various film scores and joint recordings such as Jake & Friends (2021) and Grateful (2023).
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on November 3, 1976, Shimabukuro received his initial ukulele instruction from his mother at age four. Captivated by the instrument, he soon performed regularly at a neighborhood café in Honolulu. He helped establish the group Pure Heart and appeared on its first two albums before departing to form Colon. His solo career began in 2001 with the Surfside Records release Elaine Maru (In Memory Of). Epic signed him the next year, issuing Sunday Morning in 2003 and Skyline later that same year. By 2005 he had secured international distribution for Hitchhike Records, his own imprint, and began releasing material on it, including Crosscurrent, Dragon, My Life, and the widely praised Gently Weeps, which contained a memorable reading of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
At that stage Shimabukuro had already redefined the expressive range of the ukulele, drawing the interest of Béla Fleck, who subsequently featured him both as an opener and as an occasional guest with the Flecktones. Peace, Love, Ukulele, released in 2011, reached number one on Billboard’s World Albums chart. Grand Ukulele appeared in fall 2012, produced by Alan Parsons with string arrangements by Kip Winger and captured live without overdubs. Travels followed in October 2015, a set narrower in ambition than its predecessor yet still stylistically diverse. Nashville Sessions (2016) documented six days of spontaneous composition performed by a newly formed trio. Returning to the same Nashville studio, Shimabukuro expanded the ensemble to a quartet for 2018’s The Greatest Day, which blended original material with covers of the Zombies’ “Time of the Season” and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.”
The 2019 trio album Trio, featuring bassist Nolan Verner and guitarist Dave Preston, presented an eclectic blend of originals, pop interpretations, and Hawaiian pieces and again topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. Jake & Friends arrived in 2021, uniting Shimabukuro with Lyle Lovett, Bette Midler, Jack Johnson, Jon Anderson of Yes, Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band, Moon Taxi, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, and Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers, among others. Later that year President Joe Biden nominated him for membership on the National Council on the Arts. His collaborative work continued with the 2023 release Grateful, a deeply personal collection recorded with Hawaii-based artists Henry Kapono, Kawika Kahiapo, Brother Noland, Raiatea Helm, Justin Kawika Young, Del Beazley, John Cruz, and Kimié Miner.
