Jake Shimabukuro Musician Extraordinaire (Video)

Posted on: February 20th, 2008 by: Meg

Jake Shimabukuro, a Japanese American from Hawaii, played a George Harrison song from his White Album entitled While My Guitar Gently Weeps on his instrument of choice last night - the ukulele. The performance was on The Conan O’Brien Show. The 31 year old virtuoso is known for his lightning fast fingers. His music combines jazz, rock, Hawaiian and pop.

He initially gained attention in Hawaii in 1998 as a member of Pure Heart, a musical trio. They released a debut album Ka’au Crater Boys, which won them four Na Hoku Hanohano Awards - the Hawaiian equivalent of the Grammy Awards.

Shimabukuro got his first ukulele at age four, and he was hooked from the first chord he played. As a solo artist, he has been called the ‘Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele’. Internet videos of his While My Guitar Gently Weeps have received over 3 million views. He has released a studio version of that song on his latest CD, Gently Weeps, available on i-Tunes.

Check out photos and a video of While My Guitar Gently Weeps after the jump.