Painting with four strings: Jake Shimabukuro dazzles at MPAC

Jake Shimabukuro is flanked by percussionist Taku Hirano and Jackson Waldhoff on bass, Nov. 17, 2021, at MPAC. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
2

 

Many nostalgia acts come to Morristown for a victory lap around memory lane, giving fans a chance to acknowledge musical heroes in the twilight of their careers.

Wednesday night was different.

“This is an artist at the height of his powers,” a spectator observed after Jake Shimabukuro’s performance at the Mayo Performing Arts Center.

To call the 45-year-old Shimabukuro a ukulele player is like calling Itzhak Perlman a fiddler.

With a few effects pedals and lightning fingers that make spinning airplane propellers look like swaying palm fronds, this Hawaiian virtuoso can turn four nylon strings into a symphony, a rock band, or a prayer.

Jake Shimabukuro ukes it up with percussionist Taku Hirano at MPAC, Nov. 17, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

To hear him explode into Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, or George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps–the song that made him viral, back when going viral was a good thing–is to be amazed. Every time.

He’s almost as much fun to watch. The joy that emanates from Shimabukuro onstage is child-like. His ukulele is more than an extension of his hands; it’s a window to his soul. This guy could not mail in a performance if you gave him a fleet of Amazon trucks.

“Find your passion,” he advised young members of the audience. Truer words were never played.

Unlike his 2017 appearance, this visit was billed as a Christmas show, his first holiday tour. The spirit was there, even though Shimabukuro only sprinkled in a few carols, starting with We Three Kings.

(We’re just past Halloween, he reminded everyone.)

Shimabukuro’s tender interpretation of Ave Maria demonstrated his attention to dynamics. He knows that soft and sweet hook listeners as surely as the thunderclaps from his pedalboard.

Thunderstorm Artis, from ‘The Voice,’ opens for Jake Shimabukuro at MPAC, Nov. 17, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Speaking meteorolgically… Shimabukuro has impeccable taste in accompanists, too. Thunderstorm Artis, a finalist on The Voice last year, opened the evening with a fresh take on the well-worn Blackbird, and a couple of soulful originals.

Artis returned later for a smooth spin from Stevie Wonder’s A Place in the Sun into Jose Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad, and a gentle treatment of Bette Midler’s The Rose.

Bonus treats: For most of the night, Shimabukuro was backed by bassist Jackson Waldhoff and percussionist Taku Hirano, whose lengthy credits include stints with Midler and Fleetwood Mac. How many audiences can say they’ve seen a cajon solo?

Shimabukuro’s new album, Jake & Friends (online release party: Nov. 19, 2021, at 7 pm), also features some hot collaborations.

HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES: Jake Shimabukuro at MPAC, Nov. 17, 2021. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

On Wednesday, he gave a sublime instrumental version of Harrison’s Something, which showcases Amy Grant and Vince Gill on the CD.  (Shimabukuro threatened to sing a couple of times, but wisely left that to his uke.)

Another track, Sonny Days Ahead, written and recorded with Sonny Landreth, seems to promise light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.

A couple of Shimabukuro’s livestreamed concerts helped me through the darkest days. Wednesday’s gig made me believe brighter ones are within reach.

Aloha, Jake.

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH JAKE SHIMABUKURO.

If you’ve read this far… you clearly value your local news. Now we need your help to keep producing the local coverage you depend on! More people are reading Morristown Green than ever. But costs keep rising. Reporting the news takes time, money and hard work. We do it because we, like you, believe an informed citizenry is vital to a healthy community.

So please, CONTRIBUTE to MG or become a monthly SUBSCRIBER. ADVERTISE on Morristown Green. LIKE us on Facebook, FOLLOW us on Twitter, and SIGN UP for our newsletter.

2 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY