Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Watch Jake Shimabukuro's live at SFJAZZ: sfjazz.org/jakeshimabukuro
Enter the mind of the ukulele virtuoso and composer Jake Shimabukuro. He speaks about his approach to remaining present and grateful as an artist, using the Japanese idiom “ichigo ichie” (“once in a lifetime”) as a musical mantra. He also breaks down his use of electronics to extend the possibilities and expand his creativity as a solo instrumentalist and takes us through his concept of transcending the limits of his instrument and always learning and growing.
Widely recognized as “the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele,” Shimabukuro has created an international fanbase as a sensational performer whose concerts leave audiences awed, dazzled and delighted. Over the past two decades, he's become a one-man army advancing the ukulele cause, turning the four-string axe into a supremely pliable musical vehicle, capable of generating everything from power chord rock to sensuously swinging jazz. Strumming with a hummingbird blur, he coaxes an impossibly big sound out of the instrument through his intoxicating repertoire of pop tunes, American Songbook standards and lilting originals.
Shimabukuro has released a staggering 25 albums for the global and Japanese markets since his 2002 debut Sunday Morning, including his 2006 breakout U.S. hit Gently Weeps and his 2012 Alan Parsons-produced showstopper, Grand Ukulele. The success of these recordings leaves no doubt why fellow string renegades such as banjo star Béla Fleck, fiddle wizard Darol Anger, and cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma embrace Shimabukuro as one of their own.
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/sfjazz
***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.
Watch Jake Shimabukuro's live at SFJAZZ: sfjazz.org/jakeshimabukuro
Enter the mind of the ukulele virtuoso and composer Jake Shimabukuro. He speaks about his approach to remaining present and grateful as an artist, using the Japanese idiom “ichigo ichie” (“once in a lifetime”) as a musical mantra. He also breaks down his use of electronics to extend the possibilities and expand his creativity as a solo instrumentalist and takes us through his concept of transcending the limits of his instrument and always learning and growing.
Widely recognized as “the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele,” Shimabukuro has created an international fanbase as a sensational performer whose concerts leave audiences awed, dazzled and delighted. Over the past two decades, he's become a one-man army advancing the ukulele cause, turning the four-string axe into a supremely pliable musical vehicle, capable of generating everything from power chord rock to sensuously swinging jazz. Strumming with a hummingbird blur, he coaxes an impossibly big sound out of the instrument through his intoxicating repertoire of pop tunes, American Songbook standards and lilting originals.
Shimabukuro has released a staggering 25 albums for the global and Japanese markets since his 2002 debut Sunday Morning, including his 2006 breakout U.S. hit Gently Weeps and his 2012 Alan Parsons-produced showstopper, Grand Ukulele. The success of these recordings leaves no doubt why fellow string renegades such as banjo star Béla Fleck, fiddle wizard Darol Anger, and cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma embrace Shimabukuro as one of their own.
Learn more at SFJAZZ.org
Subscribe to SFJAZZ's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/sfjazz
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/SFJAZZ
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/sfjazz
***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.
