Jake Shimabukuro

“The Jimi Hendrix of the ‘ukulele”, You haven’t heard the ukulele until you hear Jake Shimabukuro play it. Over the past two decades, Jake has proved that there isn’t a style of music that he can’t play.  What’s remarkable about his transcendent skills is how he explores his seemingly limitless vocabulary – whether it’s jazz, rock, blues, bluegrass, folk or even classical – on perhaps the unlikeliest of instruments: the ‘ukulele. Jake has taken the ‘ukulele to points previously thought impossible, and in the process reinvented the applications for this tiny, heretofore underappreciated four-string instrument.

His incredible journey has taken him from local phenom to YouTube sensation, from playing tiny clubs to headlining the world’s most prestigious concert venues like the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center and the Sydney Opera House. He’s performed with iconic artists including Willie Nelson, Bette Midler and Jimmy Buffet, to name a few, and has released a string of award-winning, chart-topping albums. Jackson Waldhoff joins him on both the “Jake & Friends” project released in 2021, and on tour! 

 About Jake Shimabukuro 

Humbly, the good-natured musician, who first picked up the ‘ukulele at the age of four, says, “From the time I started playing, I was just doing what came naturally and what felt like fun. I love all types of music, so I never thought, ‘Oh, I can’t play that on the ‘ukulele.’” He laughs and adds, “If you don’t know the rules, you don’t need to follow them, and then nothing can hold you back.” Shimabukuro’s incredible journey has taken him from local phenom to YouTube sensation, from playing tiny clubs to headlining the world’s most prestigious concert venues like the Hollywood Bowl, Lincoln Center and the Sydney Opera House. He’s performed on the biggest TV shows and has released a string of award-winning, chart-topping albums. Just recently, he was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a Member for the National Council on the Arts.

It’s fair to say that Shimabukuro has picked up more than a few admirers – millions of them, actually – but it wasn’t until he began his latest album that he discovered how many of his fans were, in fact, his very own musical heroes.

About Jackson Waldhoff

Jackson Waldhoff is a bass player from Honolulu, Hawai’i. He grew up in Kyoto, Japan; moved to Hawai’i in 2010. Waldhoff started playing guitar and bass as a way to make friends while learning English. In 2018, Waldhoff graduated from audio engineering school and worked as an audio engineer with Jake Shimabukuro on several projects, including “Trio,” “Jake & Friends”, and a track for Alan Parsons. Jackson Waldhoff and Jake Shimabukuro started touring together in 2018, and perform concerts around the world.