Jake Shimabukuro began playing the ukulele when he was 4. His first teacher was his mother. Several years later he took lessons at Roy Sakuma’s ukulele studio in Kaimuki. Eventually he and his younger brother, Bruce “B.S.” Shimabukuro, pretty much taught themselves.
Shimabukuro was attending Kaimuki High School when he met Jon Yamasato, a student at Kaiser High School, and discovered that they shared an interest in music. Yamasato sang and played guitar. With Lopaka Colon on percussion and “jungle noises,” they became Pure Heart. The trio’s remake of Bruce Channel’s 1962 Hot 100 chart-topper, “Hey! Baby,” got local radio play. Their first album, “Pure Heart,” won four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, including album of the year, in 1999.
In November of that year Yamasato surprised his bandmates when he announced via a Thanksgiving Day newspaper story that he had quit. Shimabukuro and Colon formed a quartet with singer/guitarist Guy Cruz and bassist Andrew McLellan that they named Colon in honor of Colon’s father, “exotica” percussionist Augie Colon. The quartet won a Hoku Award in 2001.
From there Shimabukuro and Colon embarked on solo careers. For Shimabukuro the decision to go solo was the catalyst of his career as an internationally known ukulele virtuoso and multi-Hoku Award-winning recording artist.
Shimabukuro, 43, scored an unusual accolade in August when the streaming platform Master Class added him to its faculty of recognized experts who conduct “master classes” across an academic spectrum that includes business, culinary arts, entertainment, film, music, photography, sports and television. Among the experts Shimabukuro shares the platform with are Jane Goodall (conservation), Wolfgang Puck (cooking), Ron Howard (directing), Simone Biles (gymnastics), Garry Kasparov (chess) and RuPaul (self-expression and authenticity). A subscription ($180/year; masterclass.com) provides unlimited access to the entire series.
Let’s start with Master Class. Congratulations on joining an impressive group.
I’ve been a longtime fan of Master Class just as a subscriber, and then when they called my manager and asked if I’d be interested doing (a class) I couldn’t believe it. I watch it all the time with my kids too. We dig it, we just check out all the different videos. I’ve learned so much over the last year just diving in to each video — like the one with FBI negotiator, Chris Voss, I learned so much from that one.
How is life as a stay-at-home-dad?
I haven’t been home like this in over 20 years, so this has been just a complete change in lifestyle. For me — finding that silver lining — this time that I’ve gotten to spend with my kids, my family, has just been so unbelievable. I’m so grateful for that. This was a rare chance for me to get a glimpse at what a different life would be like.
What have you been doing?
I’ve been learning how to be a better cook at home, to adapt and be flexible, and to be as helpful and supportive as I can during these times. We played a lot of indoor basketball — we have one of those mini-basketball hoops and the mini-basketball — so if there’s ever an indoor basketball league I think we’ll do pretty good. With the kids back in “in-person school,” this is my first time being home by myself since March, but it’s been nice to sit by myself and play and figure things out. It reminds me of how much music is such a big part of who I am.
Going back to Pure Heart and before, who were some of your influences and inspirations?
When Jon and I first started playing together we played a lot of Ka‘au Crater Boys songs — well, we tried to play a lot of Ka‘au Crater Boys songs. The first time I heard (Ka‘au Crater Boys member) Troy Fernandez play “Tropical Hawaiian Day” I picked up my ukulele and tried to figure out how he did it. Another big influence was Kapena. My (other) influences playing ukulele were Peter Moon, Eddie Kamae and Ohta-san.
The video of you playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in Manhattan’s Central Park introduced you to a worldwide audience. How did that happen?
The arrangement came about because I was doing a lot of art presenters conferences where artists from all over the world come to perform for arts presenters and promoters and show buyers that are looking for acts to book and you basically have less than five minutes to show what you do. So I had to come up with an arrangement that could basically showcase the different things that the ukulele can do in less than five minutes. I was prepping for an arts presenter conference in New York when a group of guys that had a ukulele program for television asked me to play a song for their show. I played that tune, it aired on television in 2005, and someone put the clip on YouTube — and the rest is history. It opened up all these doors for me. I’m still blown away by how all that happened.
In 2001 I watched you sit on the steps of the Kapiolani Park Bandstand after you’d played Roy Sakuma’s Ukulele Festival and spend more than an hour talking with everyone who wanted to meet you. It was like you had all the time in the world. Where does that humility come from?
When I was in high school I met Troy Fernandez when Ka‘au Crater Boys played at the Honolulu Zoo. I sat in the front row and after the concert I went right up to the stage because I wanted to get an autograph. I asked him to sign my ukulele case. He only had a ballpoint pen and he sat down on the stage with my ukulele case in his lap and just started engraving his autograph into the case. It took a while — at least seven, eight minutes — and I’ll never forget that. So whenever I have an opportunity to meet people after a concert I always remember what it was like for me.
What’s next for you musically? Do you have something coming out?
I do. It’s a collaborations record. I was hoping to release it by the end of this year, but I think we’re going to push it back to next year. It’s ready to go when the time’s right.
Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
