Jake Shimabukuro: Live

Whenever virtuosic players of exotic instruments come along, they're called the Jimi Hendrix of the (blank). Béla Fleck was the Jimi Hendrix of the banjo and more recently, Jake Shimabukuro has been hailed as the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele. Shimabukuro's style is nothing like that of Hendrix, but what's a lazy critic to do? Shimabukuro is a monster musician and boldly takes the ukulele where no ukulele has ever gone before, dazzling listeners with his blinding speed, melodic invention, and open-ended improvisations of remarkable virtuosity. Before Shimabukuro, the idea of spending an evening listing to a solo ukulele player was probably most people's idea of hell, but the 17 solo efforts here never bore. They show Shimabukuro's range and his humor as well. He plays Michael Jackson's "Thriller" with hammered-on overtones, flamenco flurries, funky slapped chords, and lightning-fast single-note runs while staying true to the song's rhythm and melody. On "Sakura Sakura" he plays a traditional Japanese folk song, mimicking the sound of a koto with flurries of 32 notes, single plucked strings that drop shimmering overtones into the air, and dramatic slurred notes. For "Wes on Four" he borrows the style of Mr. Montgomery for a jazzy improvisation that will leave your jaw hanging open, then takes on Chick Corea's "Spain," filling the air with hard single notes that explode like popcorn before moving on to interlocking rhythmic patterns accented by percussive slap-on accents. His attack is so fierce that it's hard to believe that the sound is coming from an acoustic instrument. He plays flamenco on "Let's Dance: Prelude," making the uke sound like an electric guitar again, then moves into "Let's Dance," a funky piece that alternates between thumping rhythmic accents and syncopated single notes. While Live is not exactly a greatest-hits album, Shimabukuro does reprise a few of his best-known interpretations, including his cover of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," turning it into a dramatic tour de force without sacrificing any of the tune's original beauty. His transcription of Bach's Two-Part Invention No. 4 in D minor only takes a minute to play, but it leaves a lasting impression with an interpretation that's sublime in its understated way and an impressive contrast to his aggressive playing on "Spain" and "Thriller." ~ j. poet, Rovi