Jake Shimabukuro
Jake Shimabukuro (born November 3, 1976) is an American ukulele player and composer from Hawaii known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has written numerous original compositions, including the entire soundtracks to two Japanese films, Hula Girls (2007) and Sideways (2009), the Japanese remake of the American film of the same name.
Jake Shimabukuro

Michael McCauslin · originally posted to Flickr as jake shimabukuro · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Jake Shimabukuro
- Born
- 3 November 1976
- Birthplace
- Honolulu, Hawai’i, U.S.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- composer, guitarist, ukulelist and musician.
- Fields
- music.
- Education
- Kaimuki High School.
- Languages
- English.
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Jake Shimabukuro (born November 3, 1976) is an American ukulele player and composer from Hawaii known for his fast and complex finger work. His music combines elements of jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk, and flamenco. Shimabukuro has written numerous original compositions, including the entire soundtracks to two Japanese films, Hula Girls (2007) and Sideways (2009), the Japanese remake of the American film of the same name.
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Jake Shimabukuro (born 1976) is a composer, guitarist and musician, among other activities, of American nationality. The composer was born in Honolulu.
Jake Shimabukuro was educated at Kaimuki High School. Activity centred on music.
The work spans J-pop. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q933904 · wikipedia · Jake Shimabukuro
In this article
Biography
Biography
Well known in Hawai’i and Japan during his early solo career in the early 2000s, Shimabukuro became famous internationally in 2006, when a video of him playing a virtuosic rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" was posted on YouTube without his knowledge and became one of the first viral videos on that site. His concert engagements, collaborations with well-known musicians, media appearances, and music production have snowballed since then. In 2012, an award-winning documentary was released tracking his life, career, and music, titled Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings; it has screened in a variety of festivals, aired repeatedly on PBS, and been released on DVD.

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Joe Bielawa from MInneapolis, USA · DSC_0048 Uploaded by tm
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Jake Shimabukuro • Born — 3 November 1976 • Birthplace — Honolulu, Hawai’i, U.S. • Instrument — Ukulele • Genre — * Jazz • blues • funk • rock • classical • bluegrass • folk • flamenco • Years Active — 1998–present • Label — * Sony • Hitchhike • Music Theories Recordings • Associated Acts — Jimmy Buffett, Pure Heart Colón • Website — www.jakeshimabukuro.com
Early training and career as a band member
Early training and career as a band member
• Illustration — In concert 2010 Shimabukuro was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, a fifth-generation descendant of Japanese and Okinawans who immigrated to Hawaii. His mother gave him a ukulele at age four and he quickly took an interest in the instrument, playing it many hours a day. His mother, an accomplished ukulele player and singer, was his first teacher, and he also took lessons for seven years under Tami Akiyami at Roy Sakuma Studios. Shimabukuro initially gained attention in Hawaii in 1998 as a member of Pure Heart, a trio with Lopaka Colón (percussion) and Jon Yamasato (guitar/vocals). Shimabukuro was working at a music store in Honolulu when the group released its eponymous first album, which won them four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (the Hawaiian counterpart of the Grammy Awards) from the Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts: Island Contemporary Album of the Year, Most Promising Artist(s), Album of the Year, and Favorite Entertainment of the Year, the latter determined by unrestricted public vote. The album, Pure Heart, was also named one of the Top 50 Hawaiian albums of all time by Honolulu Magazine. The following year, they released Pure Heart 2, which earned them another Hoku award for Island Contemporary Album of the Year. Yamasato left the group, and Shimabukuro and Colón formed another group, Colón, named in honor of Colón's father, famed percussionist Augie Colón. The new guitarist/vocalist to replace Yamasato was Guy Cruz, and Andrew McLellan joined on bass. The new group Colón released one album, The Groove Machine (2000), and won the Hoku Award for Favorite Entertainer of the Year in 2001.
Signing with Sony Japan
Signing with Sony Japan
Shimabukuro decided to pursue a solo career as Colón disbanded in early 2002. With the help of his newly acquired manager, Japanese native Kazusa Flanagan, in June 2002 he became the first Hawaii artist to sign a recording contract with Epic Records International, a division of Sony Music Japan International. Shimabukuro toured extensively in Japan – a practice he still continues – and from the start his albums received extensive airplay on various Japanese radio stations. He has also released numerous Japan-only CDs: Skyline (2002), Haruyo Koi (2007), Yeah (2008), Ichigo Ichie (2008), Annon (2009), The Music of Sideways (2009), Across the Universe (2009), Aloha To You (2011), Ukulele X: 10th Anniversary Collection (2011), Ukulele Disney (2012). In 2008, a 120-page biographical photo-book on Shimabukuro was published in Japan. Sony Japan, however, only releases Shimabukuro's music in Japan, and to release the music in Hawaii, he created the Hitchhike Records label. Between 2002 and 2005, Shimabukuro released four U.S. albums as a solo performer: Sunday Morning (2002), Crosscurrent (2003), Walking Down Rainhill (2004), and Dragon (2005). All of them except Dragon won both Na Hoku Awards and Hawaii Music Awards, and Dragon won the Hawaii Music Award for Best Rock Album and peaked at #5 on Billboards Top World Music Albums in 2005. As a solo artist, Shimabukuro experimented with using effect pedals to make new sounds that few would associate with an ukulele. In 2005, he secured a nationwide U.S. distribution deal for his Hitchhike Records label, which had previously been confined to the Hawaii market. In 2005 he also did his first nationwide mainland U.S. concert tour, and released a DVD of instructional segments, concert footage, and interviews called Play Loud Ukulele.
Breakout success
Breakout success
• Illustration — Performing at Stockholm Jazz Festival 2009 In April 2006, Shimabukuro came to national and international attention when, unbeknownst to him, someone posted a virtuosic video of him playing George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on YouTube. The video, which had originally been filmed for a New York television show called Midnight Ukulele Disco, quickly went viral, and has received over 17 million views. The video performance resulted in a huge increase in concert engagements, and Shimabukuro received collaboration requests from notable musicians including Jimmy Buffett, Béla Fleck, Ziggy Marley, Cyndi Lauper, Keali'i Reichel, and Yo-Yo Ma. He toured with Buffett in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and is featured on several of Buffett's albums and videos, including his 2007 CD/DVD release Live in Anguilla. Shimabukuro also began receiving many invitations to perform on major U.S. talk shows and other well-known media ventures, and began touring worldwide eight or nine months a year. Shimabukuro released his fifth U.S. album, Gently Weeps, in September 2006. The album peaked at #2 on Billboards Top World Music Albums in 2006, and won the 2007 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Instrumental Album of the Year. Also in 2006, he composed the music to the Japanese film Hula Girls, which featured hula dancing and a Hawaiian spa resort as its primary theme and setting. In 2009, Shimabukuro released his concert CD, Live, which captures him in performance at various venues around the world: New York, Chicago, Japan, and Hawaii. It peaked at number 5 in Billboards Top World Music Albums in 2009 and 2010, won the Hoku for Instrumental Album of the Year, garnered Shimabukuro the award for Favorite Entertainer of the Year, and won the Hawaii Music Award for Best Ukulele Album. In November 2009, he accompanied fellow Hawaii-born Bette Midler at the Royal Variety Performance. They performed a rendition of the Beatles song "In My Life" as the first of Midler's three-song set, and afterwards they met Queen Elizabeth and shook her hand.
2011 to present
2011 to present
Peace Love Ukulele, Shimabukuro's 2011 CD, reached #1 in Billboards Top World Music Albums in 2011 and 2012. It won the 2012 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for Instrumental Album of the Year, and also garnered Shimabukuro the Na Hoku Hanohano award for Favorite Entertainer of the Year. Shimabukuro created an original piece "Ukulele Five-O" as part of the soundtrack for the new Hawaii Five-0 television series. He capped off 2011 with several live performances on the New Year's Eve episode of A Prairie Home Companion, broadcast live from Hawaii. Shimabukuro's 2012 album, Grand Ukulele, was produced by music producer/engineer Alan Parsons, at Parsons' request. It features a 29-piece orchestra and a rhythm section, with the ukulele soloing, and was recorded live with no over-dubbing. The album has reached #2 in Billboards Top World Music Albums. In 2012, a one-hour documentary film about Shimabukuro's life and career was released, titled Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings. The film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Ashland Independent Film Festival, the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film and the Best Editor award at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, the Honorable Mention for Best Documentary Feature at the Urbanworld Film Festival, and the Best Medium Length/Essay Award at the DocuWest International Documentary Film Festival. The film aired nationally on PBS in May 2013. It was released on DVD July 2013. On February 14, 2020, Shimabukuro released his album Trio through Music Theories Recordings, which landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. That same year Shimabukuro announced his latest studio project, Jake & Friends, but its release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 9, 2021, he released the first two songs from the album: "Two High" with Moon Taxi, and "Stardust" with Willie Nelson. The full album was released on November 12, 2021, and also features collaborations with Bette Midler, Warren Haynes, and more. On June 23, 2021, Shimabukuro was nominated by president Joe Biden to be a Member of the National Council on the Arts. • Illustration — Jake Shimabukuro at the Blue Mountains Music Festival (Katoomba, NSW, Australia) March 2008
Media appearances
Media appearances
Shimabukuro has appeared and performed in a number of media outlets, including Late Night with Conan O'Brien (2005, 2008), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (twice in 2011), Last Call With Carson Daly (2007), The Today Show (2013), Musicians@Google, and several TED conferences including TED2010, TEDxSanDiego, TEDxTokyo, TEDxHongKong, and TEDxHonolulu. He has been featured on A Prairie Home Companion, NPR’s Morning Edition and World Cafe, Public Radio International’s The World, Whad'Ya Know?, PRX's Echoes, and The Bob Edwards Show on XM Satellite Radio. Shimabukuro was featured on the January 15, 2012, episode of CNN's The Next List. In March 2012 the documentary by Tadashi Nakamura on his life and career was released, Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings, and it subsequently aired repeatedly on PBS.
Instruments
Instruments
Shimabukuro plays a custom-made 4 string tenor ukulele from Kamaka Ukulele. Early in his career he experimented with the use of effect pedals, but As of 2011, has relied on the natural sounds of the ukulele and avoided sound manipulation. For his Grand Ukulele Tour, he has added the use of a couple of effects pedals to his show. One of them is used to take a sound sample that he loops and accompanies.
Charity
Charity
Shimabukuro was for many years the key spokesperson and then also director of the Music Is Good Medicine non-profit organization. It used community outreach programs and performance visits to schools, senior centers, and hospitals to promote healing and encourage a healthy lifestyle and a connection to music. He has also done several performances in tsunami-devastated Sendai, Japan, in order to bring peace and respite to the distraught and newly homeless residents' lives. Following the dissolution of the Music Is Good Medicine program, Shimabukuro founded his own non-profit organization, the Four Strings Foundation, in 2013. It creates music education workshops nationwide and provides ukuleles, materials, and training tools to schools and music teachers. It also hosts concerts and publishes music media, lobbies to increase music education, encourages schools to make music programs culturally relevant, conducts research in music education and children's social/emotional learning, and provides funding for music education in schools nationwide. Shimabukuro stated: "The Four Strings Foundation was created as a vehicle to give people opportunities to make a difference. My primary focus is to inspire kids through music to help them discover their passion in life. The message is simple – strive to be the best, live drug-free and have fun." The mission statement of Four Strings is: "To create new opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the act of making music and to use those experiences as a vehicle to promote personal empowerment and fulfillment." In 2025, he partnered with The Good Tidings Foundation to revamp the music room of Washington Middle School, where he attended.
Personal life
Personal life
Shimabukuro married OB/GYN physician Kelly Yamasato in May 2011. They have a son, Chase, born in August 2012. Jake's brother, Bruce Shimabukuro, is also a well known ukulele player in his own right; he teaches ukulele and has released albums of his own. Bruce accompanies his brother on guitar on a track on My Life, and composed one of the tracks, "Ukulele Bros.," on Peace Love Ukulele. Shimabukuro's career-long manager was Kazusa Flanagan, a native of Japan who moved to Hawaii in 1992.
CDs
CDs
• with Pure Heart • Pure Heart (1999) • Pure Heart 2 (1999) • Pure Heart 2.5 (1999) (Christmas album) • with Colón • The Groove Machine (2000) • Solo career • Sunday Morning (2002) • Crosscurrent (2003) • Walking Down Rainhill (2004) • Dragon (2005) • Gently Weeps (2006) • Hula Girls (2007) (film soundtrack) • My Life (2007) • Live (2009) • Peace Love Ukulele (2011) • Grand Ukulele (2012) • Travels (2015) • Live in Japan (2016) • Nashville Sessions (2016) • The Greatest Day (2018) • Trio (2020) • Jake & Friends (2021) • Grateful (2023) • Japan-only releases • Skyline (2002) • Haruyo Koi (2007) • Yeah (2008) • Ichigo Ichie (2008) • Annon (2009) • The Music of Sideways (2009) (film soundtrack to Sideways, the 2009 Japanese remake of the same name, composed by Shimabukuro) • Across the Universe (2009) • Aloha To You (2011) • Ukulele X: 10th Anniversary Collection (2011) • Ukulele Disney (2012)
DVDs
DVDs
• Play Loud Ukulele (2005) (instructional, concerts, interviews) • Million Miles Away (2005) (concert performance) • Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings (2012) (documentary film featuring Shimabukuro)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1976
Jake Shimabukuro born at Honolulu.
Books
• Shimabukuro, Jake. Peace Love Ukulele. Hal Leonard Corporation, 2012. (songbook transcriptions with ukulele tablature) • Shimabukuro, Jake. The Name of the Wind: Portrait of Jake Shimabukuro. Kodansha, 2008. (Japanese biographical photobook)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q933904: Jake Shimabukuro
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
- “Jake Shimabukuro”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Shimabukuro, Jake, Oxford Music Online, 2016
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2016
Na Hoku Hanohano Awards
Na Hoku Hanohano Awards
• Pure Heart member • 1999 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Pure Heart – Best Album of the Year • 1999 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Pure Heart – Island Contemporary Album of the Year • 1999 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Most Promising Artist (Pure Heart) • 1999 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Favorite Entertainer of the Year (Pure Heart) • 2000 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Pure Heart 2 – Contemporary Album of the Year • Colón member • 2001 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Favorite Entertainer of the Year (Colón) • Solo artist • 2003 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Sunday Morning – Instrumental Album of the Year • 2003 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Favorite Entertainer of the Year • 2004 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Crosscurrent – Instrumental Album of the Year • 2005 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Walking Down Rainhill – Instrumental Album of the Year • 2006 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Favorite Entertainer of the Year • 2007 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Gently Weeps – Instrumental Album of the Year • 2010 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Live – Instrumental Album of the Year • 2010 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Favorite Entertainer of the Year • 2012 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Peace Love Ukulele – Instrumental Album of the Year • 2012 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards: Favorite Entertainer of the Year
Hawaii Music Awards
Hawaii Music Awards
• Pure Heart • 1999 Hawaii Music Awards: New Artist of the Year (Pure Heart) • 1999 Hawaii Music Awards: "Koke'e" – Best Music Video (Pure Heart) (4 winners) • 2000 Hawaii Music Awards: Pure Heart 2.5 – Best Seasonal Album (Pure Heart) • Solo artist • 2002 Hawaii Music Awards: Mahalo Award, Studio Musician of the Year • 2002 Hawaii Music Awards: "Ehime Maru" – Best Single Recording • 2003 Hawaii Music Awards: Sunday Morning – Instrumental Hawaiian Album of the Year • 2004 Hawaii Music Awards: Entertainer of the Year • 2004 Hawaii Music Awards: Crosscurrent – Album of the Year • 2004 Hawaii Music Awards: Crosscurrent – Instrumental Hawaiian Album of the Year • 2005 Hawaii Music Awards: Walking Down Rainhill – Best Ukulele Album • 2005 Hawaii Music Awards: Play Loud Ukulele – DVD of the Year, 2nd Place • 2006 Hawaii Music Awards: Dragon – Best Rock Album • 2008 Hawaii Music Awards: My Life – Best Ukulele Album • 2008 Hawaii Music Awards: Hula Girls – Best Film Score • 2010 Hawaii Music Awards: Live – Best Ukulele Album
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Goldstein, Norm. Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. Basic Books. 112. 2007. 978-0-465-00489-8.
- 2.Jake Shimabukuro. musicplayer.com. September 2005.
- 3.The Official Website For Jake Shimabukuro!. JakeShimabukuro.com. 2016-08-01.
- 4.Dennis, Zach. 5 Things To Know About 'Ukulele Virtuoso' Jake Shimabukuro. Playbuzz. 2015-11-11.
- 5.cromulantman. Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro. 2006-04-22.
- 6."Ukulele Virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro Gives Lecture at the University of Tokyo". Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education. November 1, 2022.
- 7.Tranquada, Jim. The Ukulele: a History. University of Hawaii Press. 162. 2012. 978-0-8248-3544-6.
- 8.Shimabukuro reunites with former bands - Honolulu PulseHonolulu Pulse. Honolulu Pulse. 2014-12-06.
- 9."Guest: Jake Shimabukuro". Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox, episode aired March 12, 2013. PBS Hawaii (transcript). Video of episode .
- 10.Berger, John. "From an upcoming ukulele symposium to a solo CD project, Jake Shimabukuro's career is on a High Strum". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. March 19, 2002.
- 11.Sunday Morning on JakeShimabukuro.com (Internet Archive, September 2, 2004).
- 12.Shimabukuro, Jake. The Name of the Wind: Portrait of Jake Shimabukuro. Kodansha, 2008.
- 13.Reinartz, Joe. "Jake Shimabukuro's Two Octave, Four String Adventure". Pollstar. October 25, 2010.
- 14.Dragon – Awards on AllMusic.
- 15.Lewis, Vince. "Jake Shimabukuro: Ukulele Virtuoso". VinceLewis.net. August 4, 2007.
- 16.Jake Shimabukuro playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on YouTube.
- 17.Gently Weeps – Awards at AllMusic.
- 18.Live – Awards at AllMusic.
- 19.Na Hoku Hanohano :: 2010. Mele.com.
- 20.Jake Shimabukuro – Awards at AllMusic.
- 21.Na Hoku Hanohano :: 2012. Mele.com.
- 22.Hawaii Five-O: Original Songs From the Television Series, CBS Records (2011) EAN: 0094922484567.
- 23.[ Jake Shimabukuro: World Albums – Chart History] at Billboard.com.
- 24.Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings – Awards at the Internet Movie Database.
- 25.Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival » FESTIVAL AWARDEES RECOGNIZED.
- 26."Urbanworld 2012 Announces Award Winners". IndieWire. September 23, 2012.
- 27."The Best Medium Length/Essay Award goes to the film Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings". DocuWest Film Fest, official Facebook page. September 18, 2012.
- 28.Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings DVD on Amazon.
- 29.Jensen Communications. Jake Shimabukuro Earns First #1 Contemporary Jazz Album on Billboard Charts.
- 30.Jae Leiber, Sarah. Jake Shimabukuro Releases New Album 'Trio'. Broadway World.
- 31.Moore, Bobby. WIllie Nelson Revisits 'Stardust' With Ukulele Great Jake Shimabukuro. Wide Open Country. 20 September 2021.
- 32.Biden Nominees for Arts Council Include Ukulele Legend Jake Shimabukuro, Apollo Theater's Kamilah Forbes & Indie Record Label President. 24 June 2021.
- 33.TEDxSanDiego TED.com. www.ted.com.
- 34.» Jake Shimabukuro. archive.tedxtokyo.com.
- 35.Belsky, Joshua. Sneak Peek: Peace, Love and Ukulele with Jake Shimabukuro. CNN.
- 36."Jake Shimabukuro Interview". J-Pop World. March 2011.
- 37."Ukulele Virtuoso Proves that Music is Good Medicine". From the Top. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
- 38.A benefit concert for those affected by the 2011 Japan Earthquake, featuring Jake Shimabukuro. Honolulu Festival.
- 39.Jake Shimabukuro Reaches Children Through New Foundation – Ukulele. www.ukulelemag.com. 24 February 2015.
- 40."Jake Shimabukuro launches non-profit for music education". Guitar Player. April 25, 2013.
- 41.Four Strings Foundation – Official site.
- 42."Jake Shimabukuro: The Ukulele Man". The Outsider Argentina. April 10, 2013.
- 43.V, Billy. Ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro makes over middle school music room. hawaiinewsnow. August 12, 2025.
- 44.Bruce Shimabukuro – Credits at AllMusic.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Shimabukuro, Jake, Oxford Music Online, 2016Crossref registry
Verifiedreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q933904: Jake ShimabukuroWikimedia Foundation
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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