Acoustic Guitar

Jake made the Acoustic Guitar top 240 essential albums list for 2009.

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Honolulu Advertiser

Shimabukuro shares passion for playing

"A month ago, Hawai'i 'ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro performed the Beatles classic "In My Life" alongside Bette Midler for Queen Elizabeth II at the prestigious Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, England, a show that also included actress-comedian Whoopi Goldberg, singer Michael Buble and tween star Miley Cyrus.

And what was good enough for the queen — and Bette, Whoopi and Miley — proved good enough for hundreds of Hawai'i State Library patrons yesterday as Shimabukuro played a free 45-minute set, heavy on Beatles covers, and shared his views on music, passion and personal expression in support of the Music is Good Medicine community outreach program."

-Michael Tsai

Honolulu Star Bulletin.com

"Everyone suffers style quandaries from time to time, but few ever have to agonize -- as Jake Shimabukuro has done over the past week -- about what to wear to meet the queen of England.

It looks good, but can you play in it? Jake Shimabukuro took his ukulele into the dressing room at Neiman Marcus Tuesday to see how well he could move in this jacket from Royal Underground."
-Nadine Kam

The Adventure Life.org

"Depending on who’s doing the talking and how deep their musical reference points go, Jake Shimabukuro is described as either “the Jimi Hendrix of ukulele” or “the Eddie Van Halen of ukulele”. It’s a simple way to wrap your head around the magic that transpires between Shimabukuro and this small, four-string instrument–and a lot stronger sales pitch than “guy alone on stage with ukulele”. Flattering and true as references to guitar legends might be, it doesn’t do Jake justice."
- Steve Casimiro

Riverside Press Enterprise.com

Shimabukuro has been working on Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" for this tour. He said the song has been fun to play live. Since everyone knows the song, he said, he can tell that fans in the audience are waiting for their favorite moments, to see how he will pull them off.

"It's such a challenging piece," he said. "It had my brain tied up in knots."
- Vanessa Franko

Pasadena Weekley

"With its diminutive size and high voice, the ukulele is generally treated more like a joke than a serious musical instrument. But to virtuoso musician Jake Shimabukuro, the uke is a global goodwill ambassador. “It’s one of the very few instruments in the world where you can just mention the name and people will smile or laugh,” Shimabukuro says while recalling encounters he’s had on tour. “I really believe that music should bring joy to people; it should make people feel good. And ukulele’s definitely an instrument that does that. ”Born in 1976, the amiable Hawaii native has been playing the ukulele since he was 4. He’s released at least 10 CDs, including this year’s “Live,” which have reaped accolades for his speed, precision and style."
- Bliss

The North County Times

"But Shimabukuro's concerts are no novelty act filled with quirky cover songs. The bulk of his work, both live and on recordings, have been original songs. While all instrumentals, his music still can be surprisingly moving and thoughtful, which undoubtedly is why he was commissioned by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii to compose a song, "Annon," to commemorate the 750th birthday of Shinran Shonin, whose teachings live on in one of the largest and most influential schools of Buddhism in Japan."
- Gary Warth

Pittsburgh Tribune

Jake sat down with the Pittsburgh Tribune to conduct a in depth interview. Jake talks about his passion for the ukulele and his music.

Check It Out Here - http://link.brightcove.com/

Jake Performs Michael Jackson's Thriller - FOX Detroit.com

Check out Jake perform Thriller on the FOX Detroit TV news station.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com

Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"Jake Shimabukuro has found his love of jazz has one string attached.

"I don't consider myself a jazz musician," he says of his work in the genre that has steered his music away from the folk music of his heritage. "I just don't have the vocabulary for that."

But that has not stopped him from exploring jazz, pop and even classical music on his ukulele, a skill he will show off Friday in the North Side."
- Bob Karlovits