Jake Shimabukuro

The City Winery – Nashville, TN

January 29th, 2020

I’ve already flogged myself in my recent review of Jake Shimabukuro’s new CD, Trio, (here) so I won’t do it again. I’ve learned my lesson. So much so that I attended his show last night at The City Winery. It was my first time catching a show at that venue and I loved it. Great facility. Great staff. Great food. I don’t drink wine so I can’t give you an honest take on that but I’m told by others that they have great wine, too (queue up Three Dog Night’s “Joy To The World” now). You’ll definitely want to frequent this place.

Soon after I enjoyed the braised duck taco’s and unsweet tea, the show began with Jake performing a very moving cover of the Beatles’ “My Life”.

Wow. Just wow.

How I would describe Shimabukuro’s entertainment style is that he is the Tommy Emmanuel of the ukulele. Lively. Precise. Funny. What else?

Hmmmmm?

Happy. Yes, that’s it. Happy. Jake Shimabukuro is happy in what he’s doing. You can sense from the crowd that he loves what he’s doing. He loves the ukulele. He loves his family. He loves his bandmates (who joined him as the show progressed), bassist Nolan Verner, and his amazing guitarist, Dave Preston. The bond and camaraderie between the three of them was self-evident.

It is the mastery of Jake’s craft – coupled with his happy, gentle spirit – that makes his show so engaging. I left the show happy and excited to have finally discovered Jake Shimabukuro. If you aren’t yet familiar with Jake’s work, then I highly recommend getting your copy of Trio when it comes out. Each cut is worth the price of the CD. Seriously.