Customer Reviews

Live

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Jake Shimaburo may be one of the best instrumentalists in the "string picker" world that you've heard of but can't remember his name. Well it doesn't exactly roll off your tongue. But if I say the words "ukulele" and "When My Guitar Gently Weeps", you know right then whom I'm talking about. The YouTube of his 2004 performance in Central Park has had millions of viewers. But Jake's not with a major label. (His label, Hitchhike Records, is owned by Sony's Japan division) and most folks learn about Jake through word of mouth. Among top musicians he's well known (Yo-Yo Ma featured him on his CD/DVD last year) but he's still the best kept secret out there. When he plays a folk or music festival - He wowed them at both the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival last year - he sells out of the CDs he brings. Once you hear him, you can't get enough.

This latest effort for the young 30 year-old Hawaiian captures him in performance at various venues around the world (New York, Chicago, Japan and his home state of Hawaii) and yet is sequenced so that you'd never know this was not one 70-minute set. All the audience response is just as enthusiastic. Consider it a "greatest hits" package as most of the tracks are numbers he has recorded on his many studio-recorded albums (all of which I love). "Guitar Gently Weeps" is here of course along with "Let's Dance" in which Jake's fingers move faster than your ears can hear. The one new track is a tribute to the 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson's "Thriller", which Jake makes his own.

If you've not heard Jake play before - other than the You Tube video - this album is a good place to start and will lead you back to others he has released. If you have his previous albums, this one will add a few new tracks for you. Since the distribution of his CDs in the US is so small, Amazon is a great source to find his CDs. And, if you are lucky enough to have a chance to see him "live", don't miss the opportunity. You won't soon forget it.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

Have seen Jake perform 5 times live. This CD really showcases what he is all about. What is really cool about his live shows is that he gives a little intro to each song, telling the audience his inspiration &/or interpretation of what he is trying to do with the UKE. My son's favorite songs are "Me & Shirley T" and "Dragon", the first about sugar overload, the second a tribute to Bruce Lee, with a nod to Eddie Van Halen. Dragon is so much more inpressive seen live, it is a very technique driven song. I still get chills listening to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and I like "5 dollars unleaded", "3rd Stream" and his Bach and Thriller covers, all of which I saw at his last show. If you ever get a chance to see a live performance, you can't pass it up.

April 14th Dominator Ukulele Tabs wrote, "Jake's new Live CD is outstanding... He just keeps getting better and better."

My favorite, Piano-Forte, is melodic, deceivingly simple and incredibly beautiful. Two others I really enjoy are Trapped and Five Dollars Unleaded. Wes on Four and Yeah are masterpieces of ukulele skill, but then I guess all Jake's playing is. These five pieces are less known to me. The better known songs are as extraordinary as ever, such as Let's Dance, Dragon, Sakura Sakura, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Blue Roses Falling and on and on. Each tune is so pleasurable it's difficult to leave one for the next.

The quality of the sound, clarity of tone and the feeling Jake both shares and elicits is indescribably wonderful.

Steve I. Ramm's review is correct in every way; I especially agree with, "Once you hear him, you can't get enough." Elaine of Alaska writes, "I would recommend his music and performances to anyone and everyone..." and I have, even to strangers while flying on planes, waiting in airport terminals and riding on buses.

A friend asked if I wanted to go hear a ukulele player in concert. "Two hours of ukulele music?" I asked, hesitant. "Yeah, but you've never heard the uke played like this," my friend replied. So, a bit reluctantly, I went.

Wow! Am I ever glad I did! This was uke music like I've never heard before and probably won't hear again. Unless, of course, I go to another Jake Shimabukuro concert. Which I certainly will! Before attending this concert, I used to think of ukulele music as something "strummy" and not-very-loud, and not all that interesting. A bit campy, maybe, imitating music of the 1920s. Jake's music is nothing like this. The volume and tone he gets out of his ukulele is amazing, and very satisfying. And I love how he interprets all different kinds of music, from classical to jazz to rock to blues. He can do anything, and do it in a musically interesting, intellectually stimulating, soul-satisfying way.

I caught Jake Shimabukuro in Austin, TX recently, fresh off a tour with Jimmy Buffett. In live performance he was a wonder, his entire body swooping and weaving as his fingers flew up and down the short fingerboard of his ukulele, making the instrument sound like a mandolin, a flamenco guitar, a piano, and sundry percussion instruments. He was not just a smokin' hot player, though, but an expressive musician with an unforced charm in his asides to the audience, which the night I was there was totally enthralled.

Much of Shimabukuro's charisma comes through on this live album, taken from various performances in various locations, but remarkably consistent in sound and atmosphere. His own compositions span the gamut from the simple charm of "Piano-Forte" to the jaw-dropping virtuosity of "Let's Dance," while he covers everything from Bach to the Beatles to a Japanese folksong, "Sakura Sakura."

If pressed to the wall I'll admit that, without having him in the flesh, a tiny sense of sameness creeps into some of his longer original compositions. It's not surprising that one of the best tracks, and the one that shot him to fame, is a cover, his lovely and touching take on Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." This is a very personal reservation and shouldn't discourage anyone from sampling the art of this very special musician.

I saw Jake, in person, on April 13th. This show mirrored the "Live" Album and was incredible. Almost all my favorties are on this CD and it showcases all the different styles Jake can play. This is the next best thing to seeing him in person, which I recommend you do if possible. Jake is a wonderful musician and loves his fans. He signed and played my homemade ukulele.

I don't normally like live albums, but Jake is really at his best when it's just him and an audience. Great buy,

Mr. Shimabukuro's cd, Live, doesn't disappoint. He is a virtuoso with his instrument. I'm glad I heard his interview, and music, on public radio. That is how I was introduced to this talented person. I'll probably purchase more of his music.

After getting a couple of Jake S. cd's, I got frustrated and gave up on him because I've always preferred small ensembles or a single instrument playing so that you can get the full power of the lead instrument & artist -but he never seemed to do that on the earlier recordings. This cd is exactly what I've been looking for- Finally! Hat's off to "Live"!

I usually shun live albums and rarely buy one. But this is an exceptional album. If you want 100% unadulterated Jake at his best and can only afford to buy one album, this one is my pick. And I have them all.