Customer Reviews

Sunday Morning

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This review is for two kinds of people: those who know Jake, and those who don't...yet. Listen to just about any recording of his, and you will develop an irresistible urge to see him in person. This one is no exception, especially the raucous interaction between Jake-san and his audience on "Crazy G," the one cut recorded live at Chai's Island Bistro. I recently caught a performance of his at The Willows in Honolulu, and his in-person musicianship, personality, and intense depth of feeling that he communicates through his music, is nothing short of "pure magic," a phrase I'm simply copying from many others.
His goal for this, his first, full-length solo album, was to "represent the ukulele as best as possible, and demonstrate how versatile the instrument can be," and in this he succeeds admirably, as this baby is truly eclectic.
For those who do know Jake, I doubt anyone will be disappointed in this his latest milestone. As much as its variety, the album showcases, in my opinion, his talent as a songwriter, and his amazing ability to take a remake of any kind, and create a sound at least ten times better than the original.
Of the five original compositions, "Sand Channel" is a nice Latin jazz cut that features "slide uke" on the bridge, plus some great, natural improvisation, while "Love Is" has a slower, jazzy sound, shows his trademark, super-percussive "attack" on leads, and more good improvisations. His improvs are so clean, varied and natural that no track-and they are all instrumental-seems "long," and never, ever boring.
The title song, "Sunday Morning," is a very nice, soft-rock, Island Contemporary, with full instrumentation and a very pleasing melody line which one can quickly become attached to, and which he once again varies with several excellent improvs.
"Toastmaker's Revenge" is an instrument-ripping, jazz-rock powerhouse that features a dubbed, distortion-electric uke for good measure; it also demos the cleverness of the Jake-ster's humor, in the intro. Finally, "Let's Dance" is another fast-picking, Latin jazz, a bit like his "To-ka-da" original from the earlier, "Colon" CD;
Nicola Paganini's "Caprice #24," a classical piece written for violin, shows the breadth of his techniques, using what sounds like "slides" in addition to harmonics, to vastly extend the range and potential of this "humble, four stringed instrument."
Then come my personal favorites: "My Heart Will Go On," a mix of solo ukulele and minimal instrumentation, is a masterful interpretation, capturing the emotion of the song beautifully; "Sleepwalk," the old Santo and Johnny No. 1 hit from the fifties...well, it's simply the best "Sleepwalk" I've ever heard. It features great, attacking, percussive leads, straight "electric" sounds a la Les Paul, and has a little turnaround at about 2:38 into the song that is so `ono gassy it practically made me slide right off my chair!
But "Close To You," a Burt Bacharach original made famous by the Carpenters, is for me, Jake's masterpiece on this album; strictly solo ukulele, with exquisite harmonies, improvs, and emotionally masterful expression throughout.
There is only one thing I miss: His former bandmate, Lopaka Colon, and his great percussionist rhythms. Nevertheless, an excellent solo effort for Jake the Earthquake!

I first heard of Jake from listening to a Jimmy Buffett concert on Sirius radio. The concert started out with an electrifying ukulele solo of the Star Spangled Banner. I was so blown away just by that one opening to the concert, I don't even remember the rest, just Jimmy introducing Jake something-or-other. So it didn't take long to find him on Amazon; I got this cd on hearing that ONE song alone, and the fact that I happen to love the plucky happy ukulele sound. Any preconceptions you had about the ukulele sound--a la Tiny Tim, et al--will be tossed out the window. I'm looking forward to getting the rest of his cds after hearing this one.

This is great mellow, put in the cd player on continuous shuffle and let play all day, kind of music. It's all instrumental, a little jazzy, a little classical, a little early-10000 Maniacs sounding, a little Latin sounding, it's all good! The remake of Santo & Johnny's "Sleepwalk" has a nice haunting Hawaiian twang to it. He even does an excellent version of "Close to you"--that sappy sweet Carpenter's song that brings back bad 70's flashbacks. The last song, a live recording called "Crazy G", will have you wishing you were there just to see him play this! The speed in which Jake plays this is incredible--at the beginning! Throughout the song the audience chants "Faster!" and each consecutive time he plays this ditty faster. By the end, I can only imagine cartoon-like uke strings breaking, fingers turning into smaller nubs, and sweat gushing!

So if you're looking to expand your music horizons and enjoy hearing ukulele, give Jake Shimabukuro a listen!

I just got back from Hawaii and saw Jake at the Xentopia concert on the beach. He was AMAZING!!!! He had so much energy you can tell he loves his job. I bought this cd and Crosscurrents after his performance and he was there to autograph them. He was nice as can be to everybody. His music is just AWESOME!!! BUY both of his cds. You won't be sorry.

My first introduction to Jake Shimabukuro was at a live performance--and nothing can beat that! He's an amazing, high-energy, extremely talented performer who really connects with his audience. He's breathed a freshness into the modern Hawaiian music scene and plays a really mean electric ukulele!

Didn't know Shimabukuro before a weekend browse through Ukelele players...he is out of this world and is changing the face and range of ukelele possibilities! Shimabukuru is a great!

Excellent music, brings back memories of the Islands. Jake Shimabukuro is very talented! I recommend this to anyone who has a love for the Hawaiian islands and/or talent in general --well worth it!

What are you waiting for...

Just buy it... You know he is awesome!

This cd is one of my new favorites...

The uke sounds fine but the background instrumental is so overly bass exagerated that there is too much distortion...and I've got an audiophile set up. Completely unnatural.

I really liked Sunday Morning it is so good. But my favorites are the ones Jake wrote.