Jake Shimabukuro
- When you think of featured instruments in jazz, which ones come to mind?
- Sax, trumpet, vibes, piano, guitar?
- And thinking classical, maybe violin, double bass, flute, horn, oboe, bassoon?
Perhaps the last instrument you might think of featured in these genres, if at all, would be a ukulele.
Actually, the uke is the first instrument Jake Shimabukuro grabs when rendering a jazz or classical piece, or a pop, rock, blues, funk, bluegrass, or folk tune.
Shimabukuro was the opener for headliner George Benson, the featured music man for the latest installment of the Jazz Roots series, performing February 16 at the Knight Concert Hall. Perhaps the evening’s line-up was no coincidence – the ukulele was Benson’s first instrument too.
From a YouTube video that went viral in 2006, Shimabukuro caught the world’s eye and imagination as he rendered George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Since then, he has collaborated with musicians including Jimmy Buffett, Béla Fleck, Lyle Lovett, Ziggy Marley, Cyndi Lauper, fellow Hawaii-born Bette Midler and Yo-Yo Ma. He has also recorded a live album, “Grand Ukulele,” fronting a 29-piece orchestra, produced by legendary music producer/engineer Alan Parsons.
The young Shimabukuro has matured from his time as a player in the pop trio Pure Heart to a dynamic front man.
Shimabukuro’s uke was plugged in, much like an acoustic-electric guitar and, with support from electric guitar and bass, his finger-work, complicated and elegant, filled the Knight Concert Hall with a unique blend of Hawaiian pop rock and rock standards.
The trio launched into a couple of original tunes where smooth jazz collided with new-age rock. Then another tune that Shimabukuro characterized as the “Hawaiian Stairway to Heaven,” lit-up the crowd, his fingers flying up and down the frets as he picked ambidextrously; he blasted off, his strumming hand disappeared, and he crushed it, fist bumping with each of his players at its conclusion.
His solo intro to “Eleanor Rigby” quickly morphed from an articulated homage to the Beatles standard, to a hard driving rock tune. The trio got funky with the Bill Withers “Use Me,” Shimabukuro bobbing his head with some jazzy licks as he held his ukulele close. As his signature “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” landed, the audience erupted with a standing ovation. The trio finished with Freddie Mercury’s suite, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Shimabukuro again demonstrating virtuosic single string and rhythmic playing, mouthing the lyrics as ballad became progressive rock, the crowd enjoying a little “escape from reality.”
Shimabukuro was born in 1976, the same year George Benson launched his studio album “Breezin’,” which garnered multiple Granny Awards and put Benson on the world’s radar screen.
George Benson
Guitarist and singer-songwriter, ten-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master, George Benson has amassed several platinum and gold LPs over the 5-plus decades he has been entertaining a worldwide audience.
Benson cut his teeth on quartets he formed in the 1960s and as a sideman for jazzers like Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Stanley Turrentine. He later collaborated with Joe Farrell, McCoy Tyner, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau and Wynton Marsalis, transitioning from straight-ahead jazz to pop and R&B, helping to shape the smooth jazz movement.
With a plethora of innate talents to draw on, Benson’s career seems full of experimentation, with vocal styles ranging from front-man big band, scatting and mellow crooner, to jazz rhythm and lead guitar. Benson’s signature guitar style uses a unique rest-stroke picking technique, giving rise to a sound that is rounder and punchier. He is also well-known for intoning in unison with his ax.
Early on, his guitar was his go-to instrument (only one vocal track on “Breezin’”), but with a little encouragement from Quincy Jones, Benson’s soulful voice took center stage for the next couple of decades. And that voice was front and center throughout the evening at the Knight.
The concert headline was: “A Night of Breezin' and Greatest Hits,” somewhat misleading, as absent from his set was "This Masquerade," the jazzy take on Leon Russell’s rock ballad and Benson’s first big vocal (and Grammy award winning) release. Nevertheless, even without “Masquerade,” Benson filled the night air with many of his other hits.
At 74, with blood type R&B-jazz-soul-funk-positive, Benson put on a big show.
Kicking it off with his six excellent backup players,Benson seized the crowd with “Love X Love,” moving to his signature instrumental hit "Breezin'," rendering the Bobby Womack tune, measured and on point.
Warming up, Benson’s fluid tenor smoothly slid high and low, sweetly giving dimension to ballads “Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You” and his version of Nat King Cole’s “Nature Boy.” A remarkably beautiful, yet lesser known ballad, “In Your Eyes,” was a highlight, Benson’s voice not only connecting with his head but his heart.
Consummate pianist (and musical director) David Garfield heated things up on “Turn Your Love Around.” Benson demonstrated his considerable guitar chops, playing single-note melody, block chords and bass simultaneously on an expressive version of “Danny Boy.”
The crowd was on their feet with “Give Me the Night,” swaying and singing line-by-line along with Benson. He cranked things up with an extended solo and fans rushed the stage to shake his hand as he concluded.
Encoring with “On Broadway,” a tune for which Benson won a Best Male R&B Vocal Performance Grammy, was as vibrant as the live 1978 track on the “Weekend in L.A.” album – Benson’s vocals matching his guitar, mouthing each note as if his vocal cords were connected to his fingers. After an extended center cut, Benson danced offstage, leaving his fans on their feet.
If you remember what George Benson sounded like on his LPs, that’s just what you got in person, and more, from this soulfully jazzy icon.
Next up in the Jazz Roots series is Gregory Porter, "The Voice of Our Time," March 2 at 8 p.m. at the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall. Tickets are $45, $55, $65, $85 and $125*. Tickets can be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center Box Office at 1300 Biscayne Blvd., by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at arshtcenter.org/jazz.
