Jake Shimabukuro Performs At Jorgensen Center 11/17

Jake Shimabukuro (she-ma-BOO-koo-row), the wide-ranging virtuoso of a four-string, two-octave instrument - the ukulele - will sweep onto the Jorgensen stage Thursday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.

You gotta love a guy who started on his native land's instrument at age 4 after his grandmother gave him his first uke and his mother gave him a lesson. "Everyone plays in Hawaii," he says, "but I became obsessed with it."

And now he's redefined the ukulele and exploded onto the pop stage in a little over a decade. Early recordings made him a household name in Hawaii, but then the YouTube phenomenon happened - a video of Shimabukuro playing George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in Central Park went viral, with 8 million views and counting.

Since then he's performed with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Bette Midler (before the Queen of England), Yo-Yo Ma, Cyndi Lauper, Ziggy Marley, Levon Helm, Les Paul and Jimmy Buffett, all the while fine-tuning his mastery on what some thought was a limited instrument before now. He's played on "The Late Show with Conan O'Brien," "The Today Show" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and was a featured artist on NPR's "Weekend Edition."

His newest album, "Peace Love Ukulele," started at No. 1 on the Billboard World Album Chart and showcases his eclectic sound - a mix of jazz, rock, classical, traditional Hawaiian and folk. His material ranges from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to "143 (Kelly's Song)," inspired by the numeric pager code for "I Love You," a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and a warm tribute to Japanese-American soldiers from World War II called "Go for Broke."

The New York Times describes his innovative style as buoyant with a "brisk proficiency" that embraces the limits of the uke. "He compensates with an adaptable combination of rhythmic strumming, classical-style finger-picking and fretboard tapping," The Times expounds.

Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who released a ukulele album of his own, says, "Jake is taking the instrument to a place that I can't see anybody else catching up with him."

Shimabukuro's dominance on ukulele has been likened to that of Jimi Hendrix and MiLes Davis on their instruments of choice. He claims his other inspiration has come from Bruce Lee, for his experimental style in the martial arts, and Bill Cosby, for his simple connection to the audience.

Shimabukuro is a persuasive diplomat for his modest instrument. "If everyone played the ukulele, the world would be a better place," he says.

Ilo Ferreira (EE-low Fare-AIR-ah), a Cape Verde singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett discovered on a trip to Africa, will open the show. His debut album "Gather People Together" was released on Jimmy Buffett's Mailboat Records last spring.

As a singer/songwriter, Ilo tends to line up with Pop Rock, and country music styles. Today he's on the road with his American band and playing with Jimmy Buffett on his tour as special guest. By his own words "... to be part of the Buffett family on the road is like a rock 'n' roll dream taking shape. The first show I did with Jimmy got me in front of 57,000 people from day to night. The biggest crowd I ever seen before was about 3,000. It's been a terrific experience for me to see how this world of rock 'n' roll works...".

This concert is co-sponsored by the Asian American Cultural Center at UConn.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Tickets are $30 and $28, with some discounts available. For tickets and information, call the Box Office 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Mon-Fri at 860.486.4226, or order online at: jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.

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