Download List of Press Quotes
AsiaXpress.com
"However in his latest effort, Shimabukuro's true musical spirit can be heard in his solo live album, simply titled, Live. The 32-year-old Hawaiian native shows off his masterful improvisational skills and unique style of play in the 20-track album that feature songs from a number of different performances from around the world."
- Joe Nguyen
Surfer Magazine
Machado And Donavon Rock The House With Uke Legend Jake Shimabukuro
"If everyone owned a ukulele or a surfboard, the world would be a better place." This is what ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro told a full house at Oceanside's Grace Theater on Saturday, before he proceeded to blow everyone away with a concert that can only be called "awe-inspiring."
Angry Asian Man
Gotta tell you about Live
Arch Magazine.net
"The man practices what he preaches-on his new album Live the 32-year-old takes on (and rips apart) styles ranging from classical (Bach's "Two-Part Invention No. 4 in D minor" and the traditional Japanese "Sakura Sakura"), jazz (Chick Corea's "Spain"), pop (a complete deconstruction of Michael Jackon's "Thriller") and rock (George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps") in addition to his own genre defying original compositions."
-Joe Lang
North County Times
"Already recognized as a virtuoso who leaves audiences rethinking their ideas about the ukulele, Jake Shimabukuro also turns out be one hard-touring musician, his latest CD reveals.
The 17 songs on the live release, coming out Tuesday, were recorded at various shows in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boulder, Colo., and the Japanese cities of Niigata, Toyama, Oita and Yokohama."
- Gary Warth
Knoxville News Sentinel
"The ukulele has garnered little respect over the past century. Since its heyday in the 1920s, the little four-stringed Hawaiian native has been seen as a novelty. While Roy Smeck and a few other early artists displayed that the uke could be used for more complex music, few saw it as an instrument with much potential. However, when a video of Jake Shimabukuro playing a stunning version of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" went viral, Shimabukuro became an underground star and the little ukulele seemed to have its future Segovia or Hendrix."
- Wayne Blesdoe
Blog Critics Org
"Although the first thing you're bound to notice when listening to Jake Shimabukuro is the speed at which he plays, what impressed me the most was that unlike other technically proficient players he also plays with a lot of emotion. Even though it seems like his fingers are flying almost all the time, either up and down the fretboard or picking, he doesn't neglect the emotional content of his material. Certainly his cover of something like "Thriller" is primarily an example of technical prowess. However, his performance of Bachs Two-Part Invention In D-Minor makes you forget what instrument he is playing, as the beauty of the music is the focus, not his talent or his technique."
- Richard Marcus
The Seattle Times
"Usually confined to the narrow genre of traditional Hawaiian music, the ukulele in Shimabukuro's hands has gone to places before unseen: hard rock, folk, country, rhythm and blues, classical, jazz. He has an uncanny ability to adapt his instrument to disparate forms. Rather than sounding trite or forced, Shimabukuro's treatments sound studied and sincere."
- Hugo Kugiya
Arbiter Online - Boise State
"When lightning fast soloing is mentioned, the ukulele rarely comes to mind. Virtuoso ukulele player, Jake Shimabukuro, has been rearranging musical stereotypes, like the aforementioned one, for years. This Thursday, more minds will be changed when Shimabukuro graces the Record Exchange with a performance that will be nothing short of amazing."
-Matt Dalley
ASCAP Network Audio Potrait
Listen Here: http://www.ascap.com/network/audioportraits/Jake%5FShimabukuro/
