Search - Jake Shimabukuro :: Live

Jake makes the Uke a jazz instrument and is best experienced

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 04/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jake Shimaburo may be one of the best instrumentalists in the "string picker" world that you've heard of but can't remember his name. Well it doesn't exactly roll off your tongue. But if I say the words "ukulele" and "When My Guitar Gently Weeps", you know right then whom I'm talking about. The YouTube of his 2004 performance in Central Park has had millions of viewers. But Jake's not with a major label. (His label, Hitchhike Records, is owned by Sony's Japan division) and most folks learn about Jake through word of mouth. Among top musicians he's well known (Yo-Yo Ma featured him on his CD/DVD last year) but he's still the best kept secret out there. When he plays a folk or music festival - He wowed them at both the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival last year - he sells out of the CDs he brings. Once you hear him, you can't get enough.



This latest effort for the young 30 year-old Hawaiian captures him in performance at various venues around the world (New York, Chicago, Japan and his home state of Hawaii) and yet is sequenced so that you'd never know this was not one 70-minute set. All the audience response is just as enthusiastic. Consider it a "greatest hits" package as most of the tracks are numbers he has recorded on his many studio-recorded albums (all of which I love). "Guitar Gently Weeps" is here of course along with "Let's Dance" in which Jake's fingers move faster than your ears can hear. The one new track is a tribute to the 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", which Jake makes his own.



If you've not heard Jake play before - other than the You Tube video - this album is a good place to start and will lead you back to others he has released. If you have his previous albums, this one will add a few new tracks for you. Since the distribution of his CDs in the US is so small, Amazon is a great source to find his CDs. And, if you are lucky enough to have a chance to see him "live", don't miss the opportunity. You won't soon forget it.



Steve Ramm

"Anything Phonographic"

"

Next best thing to seeing him LIVE

Bruce Lee | San Mateo, CA | 04/17/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Have seen Jake perform 5 times live. This CD really showcases what he is all about. What is really cool about his live shows is that he gives a little intro to each song, telling the audience his inspiration &/or interpretation of what he is trying to do with the UKE. My son's favorite songs are "Me & Shirley T" and "Dragon", the first about sugar overload, the second a tribute to Bruce Lee, with a nod to Eddie Van Halen. Dragon is so much more inpressive seen live, it is a very technique driven song. I still get chills listening to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and I like "5 dollars unleaded", "3rd Stream" and his Bach and Thriller covers, all of which I saw at his last show. If you ever get a chance to see a live performance, you can't pass it up."

Jake's Live album, indescribably wonderful

Helen J. Moreland | St Paul MN | 04/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"April 14th Dominator Ukulele Tabs wrote, "Jake's new Live CD is outstanding... He just keeps getting better and better."



My favorite, Piano-Forte, is melodic, deceivingly simple and incredibly beautiful. Two others I really enjoy are Trapped and Five Dollars Unleaded. Wes on Four and Yeah are masterpieces of ukulele skill, but then I guess all Jake's playing is. These five pieces are less known to me. The better known songs are as extraordinary as ever, such as Let's Dance, Dragon, Sakura Sakura, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Blue Roses Falling and on and on. Each tune is so pleasurable it's difficult to leave one for the next.



The quality of the sound, clarity of tone and the feeling Jake both shares and elicits is indescribably wonderful.



Steve I. Ramm's review is correct in every way; I especially agree with, "Once you hear him, you can't get enough." Elaine of Alaska writes, "I would recommend his music and performances to anyone and everyone..." and I have, even to strangers while flying on planes, waiting in airport terminals and riding on buses."