Thursday, November 15
Ukulele Maestro & Rhythm Master
Jake Shimabukuro
& Joe Craven
LAXSON AUDITORIUM | 7:30 p.m.$23 Premium | $18 Adult | $16 Senior | $14 Student/Child
"To say that Jake Shimabukuro plays the ukulele is like saying that Tiger Woods plays a little golf." — NUVO
". . . Joe is a treasure in the worlds of string jazz and roots music." — Reno Gazette
Twenty-nine-year-old ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro has been compared to the likes of guitar legends Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix, and is already renowned for lightning-fast fingers and revolutionary playing techniques. What he plays on the ukulele defies label or category — everything from jazz, blues, funk, and classical to bluegrass, folk, flamenco, and rock n' roll. Multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven is the master of world rhythms, combining influence from folk, rock n' roll, Americana, blues, jazz, salsa, and more.
Recognized as a virtuoso not only by his audience, but also by fellow musicians and producers as well, Jake Shimabukuro has had the opportunity to perform with and/or open for Bela fleck and the Flecktones, Ziggy Marley, Jimmy Buffett, Diana Krall, Fiona Apple, Bobby McFerrin, John Hiatt, Victor Wooten, Chris Thile, Keller Williams, Tommy Emmanuel, Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Les Paul, Jamie Cullum, Kaki King, Stanley Clarke, Blues Traveler, Stephen Bishop, John Craven, Hot Buttered Rum, Radiators, Honolulu Symphony, Chance and Mista D of Nashville's MuzikMafia.
At just four years of age, Jake's mother gave him his first lesson. "When I played my first chord I was hooked," says Jake, "I fell in love with the instrument." That love grew into a deep passion to create and innovate.
Experimenting with various guitar effect pedals allows Jake to create sounds never thought possible on the tiny four-string, two-octave instrument. A true showman, his performance captivates audiences with intricate strumming and plucking, electrifying, high-energy grooves and smooth, melodic ballads evoking heartfelt emotion.
Evolving from the heavily amplified riffs that earned Jake the reputation as "Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele," now Jake masterfully extracts the pure "clean" natural acoustic sound of the uke, delicately making a single note smile or cry on his new solo album Gently Weeps.
"Recently, I've been touring a lot as a solo artist," says Jake, "and it was suggested to me that I record an album to directly reflect my live 'bandless' set. The songs I chose for this project are tunes I frequently perform at my shows. There are a couple of new ones, but these are mainly songs that I've been playing for a while."
Opening for Jake will be rhythm master Joe Craven. Craven, a long-time favorite of north state audiences has an impressive background. For almost 17 years, Craven was the highly respected multi-instrumentalist with the David Grisman Quintet and played and/or recorded with Jerry Garcia, Stéphane Grappelli, Maria Muldaur, Vassar Clements, The Persuasions, Psychograss, The Alison Brown Quartet, Darol Anger, Rob Ickes, Bob Brozman, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and many others. He's a madman with anything that has strings attached, including hospital bed pans, gas cans, cookie tins, roasting pots, fiddles, mandolins, tenor guitars, saz, cuatro and a world of percussion instruments including animal bones, latex squeeze toys, cake pans, waste cans, umbrella stands, martini shakers.
If you enjoy these performers, you might enjoy:
Global Drum Project
Ladies of the Slack Key Guitar
Assad Brothers Brazilian Guitar Festival
Woven Harmony with Robert & Rebecca Bluestone
Celtic Fiddle Festival
Leahy
Hills of Home: Doc Watson & David Holt with Richard Watson