• Chai's Island Bistro
• Jake Shimabukuro
• Kamaka ukuleles
• Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
• Abe Lagrimas, Jr.
• Dennis hi
• Eddie Kamae
• Israel Kamakawiwo'ole biographical DVD
• Bixby
• The Hazzards
• Sing-A-Longs And Lullabies For The Film Curious George, By Jack Johnson

Ukulele à Gogo

A young Asian man with Elvis Costello-like thick-rimmed glasses and a cherubic grin took the stage one recent evening at Chai's Island Bistro, a downtown Honolulu, HI, watering hole and restaurant that regularly hosts some of the state's top musical talent. Jake Shimabukuro exudes a confidence that reveals the fact that, despite his youth, he is clearly used to the spotlight. But this inconspicuous rock star didn't sling a Strat; he started wailing on a ukulele, a four-stringed instrument that has long struggled to be taken seriously by the musical masses.

Shimabukuro is changing all that.

On his custom-built Kamaka uke, the 29-year-old is a fireball of emotions when he gets onto a stage - scowling, smiling, jumping, sweating, vamping, and dancing into the audience. At Chai's, septuagenarians tapped their tables and younger folks hopped up and down.

"Ukulele means 'jumping flea' in Hawaiian and Jake epitomizes that," says Ozzie Kotani, an expert in Hawaiian music and curator for the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. "He's out of control. He's wonderfully entertaining."

Shimabukuro is the brightest light in a rising pantheon of ukulele stars who are taking the instrument once mostly associated with purposefully geeky artists such as Tiny Tim and morphing it into the hippest thing with strings. The Guam-born jazz player Abe Lagrimas, Jr., 23, is winning rave reviews for his classic uke stylings, which build on past ukulele jazz greats such as Lyle Ritz and Byron Yasui. And a young Hawaiian musician, David Kamakahi, who plays with his father, Dennis Kamakahi, is recording modern takes on traditional Hawaiian songs made famous by the masterful Eddie Kamae and his band, the Sons of Hawaii.

The arc of the ukulele's popular ascent can be traced to Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's simple, tear-inducing ukulele version of "Over the Rainbow," perhaps one of the most memorable Hawaiian recordings of the 1990s. His version of the tune has been used in dozens of advertisements, television shows, and movies, and propelled the late Hawaiian musician to international stardom. The beauty of his playing inspired hundreds to take up the instrument and the results are now becoming apparent, not just in Hawaii but also beyond.

On the mainland, the innovative rock-and-roll quintet Bixby has made the solo ukulele an instrument of note in the indie music world. And in New York City, the ukulele has been used to fuel the popularity of the The Hazzards, a two-woman band whose song "Gay Boyfriend" actually debuted at #67 on the U.K. Billboard pop charts.

Then there's the Hawaiian-born, uke-playing pop star Jack Johnson, who used the instrument in kid tunes on the Curious George film soundtrack and also has paid homage to it in his albums for adults.

Is this an instrument that may one day rival the guitar in popularity? It's doubtful . . . but it's certainly come a long way from being the butt of jokes.

Says Ozzie Kotani: "When I was a kid, it was just a strum-along kind of instrument. It's a lot more sophisticated now."

 

Posted on July 31, 2006