Ukulele Unlimited: Jake Shimabukuro at Landmark

On October 13, 2021, this reporter was back in her usual balcony seat at Landmark on Main Street to see the incomparable ukulele player, Jake Shimabukuro. It was my first concert at Landmark since the March 6th, 2020 performance by Jim Messina immediately before the pandemic, and it was, and is, great to be back.

Shimabukuro was introduced by Landmark’s new Executive Director, Richard Mayer. (Welcome Richard!) Shimabukuro is instantly likeable, with a big smile and warm personality, cracking ‘dad-jokes’ and laughing at himself. He came out not with ten guitars, like many other acts, but with one single tenor ukulele. But make no mistake – the guy is a virtuoso. The sounds that he can get from that ukulele are nothing short of other worldly.

I know something about ukuleles. I’ve been strumming one, on and off, for over 50 years. My dad picked up his first ukulele in Japan while he was serving in the Army during the Korean war. When I was a few years old, he started teaching me to strum. In the decades since, he has taught generations of our family to play. Let me be clear – what we do bears no relation to what Shimabukuro was doing, but it does give me a clear understanding of how complex what he is doing is.

At various times during the night, Shimabukuro’s uke sounded like a harp, an electric guitar, a drum, a banjo…. He is the Tommy Emmanuel of ukuleles. He makes that uke shriek, squeal, sing and cry. Shimabukuro plays beautifully – all the way up the neck, higher than I’ve ever heard anyone play a ukulele – and it still sounds perfect. He sometimes uses a two handed picking/string-hammering technique, a la Eddie Van Halen. He can achieve ethereal harmonics, which I didn’t even know were possible on a ukulele.

His song selections were great, and included three by The Beatles, two of which were George Harrison songs – “Something” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” [Harrison was a notorious ukulele enthusiast. I feel sure that Harrison would greatly approve of Shimabukuro’s tributes.] The third Beatles number was an incredible version of “Eleanor Rigby” performed with bass player Jackson Waldhoff.

A word about Waldhoff… Shimabukuro did six or so songs solo and then brought out the bassist, who was playing a regular electric bass. The guy was excellent – tasteful accompaniment, smooth playing, great sustain, perfectly well done. The two played wonderful together, and off of each other – particularly in “Eleanor Rigby” (which let the bass take the lead for a verse).

Shimabukuro is also an excellent songwriter, and showcased several of his original compositions, including “Blue Roses,” “Let’s Dance,” and the dramatic “Dragon.” Those who wanted something more traditional were treated to his version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a uke standard, and his exciting remake of the Hawaiian traditional song, “Kawika.”

Besides technically being a whiz, he is also a whiz at utilizing technology in his playing. Using a looping pedal, he was able to duet with himself, laying down track after track and playing on top of it. He also is adept at using pedals to get sounds out of the uke that ukes do not normally make – sounds more akin to Led Zeppelin than Tiny Tim.

Even if you do nothing but strum, the ukulele is a great instrument, and Shimabukuro is a fabulous ambassador, showing all the things that are POSSIBLE with those four little strings. His latest CD - "Jake & Friends" - features duets with the likes of Willie Nelson, Jon Anderson, Kenny Loggins, and Michael McDonald, it will be available on November 12th.

Landmark on Main Street is back in operation with a full lineup of performers! Upcoming shows include Zen Tricksters on October 22, Jim Messina on November 11, and Joan Osborne on November 13th. For more information about upcoming shows (and the theater’s covid policy), visit www.landmarkonmainstreet.org