The ukelele is not an instrument that I normally dream about excelling at. Or you for that matter. Admit it, if you like music and would like to play an instrument, you almost always dream about rocking on the guitar, bass, keyboard, piao, drums, sax, violin etc. But a ukelele? Well that’s what Japanese-Hawaiian Jake Shimabukuro set out to do and to be – a worldwide ambassador for the guitar’s little brother. The flamenco driven Shake It Up! starts the album with a strong kick and its an enjoyable kick. The title track Dragon is a tribute to one of Jake’s (and I’m pretty sure one of most of ours) heroes – Bruce Lee! Its a riveting Asian influenced number that is probably his best. Jake’s exquisite tone and musicality is shown on songs like With U Always, Me & Shirley T & Circle of Friends.
Floaters is an wonderful solo effort, that reminds me of a slow moving river besides a forest. 3rd Stream is an impressive, fusiony fast-fingers display with a jaw-dropping uke solo. The two side of Jake are showcased here : his solo brilliance and his ability to merge the ukelele into a more traditional band number.
The ukelele will always be a quite instrument that will need more space than most spotlight instruments. Touch, Toastmanland and Making a Perfect Yesterday are prime example of that. However, Shimabukuru is talented enough to make us absorb his liquid crystal sounds that are played on his instrument of choice, like in Looking Back. Give it a try.