ABSTRACT: 01:15 Shimabukuro explains that while this is his first solo Jazz Fest appearance, he previously attended as part of Jimmy Buffett’s band, of which he was a part for nearly three years. Touring with Buffett helped start Shimabukuro’s solo career, as he never plays back to back shows, which allowed Shimabukuro to arrange solo shows on his nights off. 02:53 Shimabukuro demurs from the title of “world-class virtuoso” and says he doesn’t know what being called “the Jimi Hendrix of ukulele” means. He does admit to being a Hendrix fan, explaining that he admires musicians who push the limits of their instruments; the same for non-musicians, he cites Bruce Lee as a major influence. He was drawn to the fact that Bruce Lee embraced all different styles of martial arts, which he considered a great way to approach music. He began in traditional Hawaiian music, but decided, inspired by Lee, to begin listening to anything he could get his hands on, and incorporating the parts he liked into his playing. 06:06 Shimabukuro confirms Wirt’s suspected flamenco influence, citing Carlos Montoya as an influencer, particularly given that upon first listening to an album he thought it was three separate guitar players. He emphasizes that this was pre-YouTube, and he had only audio clues, no visual – he set about trying to find new ways of strumming the ukulele to mimic his sound. He subsequently saw videos and realized he’d gone about it wrong. He feels grateful for having not had visual cues, as it forced experimentation. A similar thing happened upon his hearing the koto; he developed a method of imitating it that was successful yet subsequently proved unrelated to how that instrument is played. 10:02 Shimabukuro denies being a “superstar” in Japan, but explains how that’s kind of where his career started. Due to Japan’s proclivity toward Hawaiian music and the ukulele, he was offered his first official record contract there in 2001, and effectively lived there for five years. He enjoyed it greatly, and it led to the YouTube video of him playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which is what propelled him to the global scene. 12:43 Shimabukuro explains what a surprise that video was to him and gets into its origins – he’d been on his inaugural visit to New York and was asked to appear on a local TV show called Ukulele Disco, a clip of which eventually began circulating at a friend’s school, which was e-mailed to him (at that time, 2005, still a novelty). To this day he has no idea who posted it. He likes to tell people George Harrison had a hand in it, as he was a big ukulele fan and advocate. 16:23 Demonstration “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” disrupted by elevator warning 18:38 Demonstration “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” 22:22 Shimabukuro responds to Wirt’s comment that the ukulele may be considered a joyful instrument by explaining that it’s range and tuning give it a resonance similar to that of children’s laughter. Lacking bass notes not only gives it a higher register, but allows greater freedom, as upper mid-range frequencies tend to jive well together without as much thought as it required for lower ones, which he illustrates with a metaphor of picking out random notes with your right hand on a piano – which tends to sound fine – versus your left, which tends to sound muddied. He also extols the benefits of having a small instrument that travels well, which he believes goes over particularly well in this day and age. 26:27 Shimabukuro gets into the provenance of the ukulele he’s playing, his first signature instrument with the Kamakas, a Hawaiian family that’s been in the business of ukulele fabrication for a hundred years. He has six he’s used through his career, and explains that each new one becomes the only one he plays, in the name of forming a relationship bond. 30:19 Shimabukuro explains that the development of his style sprang from his inability to sing. Unable to simply strum (as his mother did, while singing) he had to find a different way to imply the melody. He cites Eddie Kamae, Ulta San and Peter Moon as three huge ukulele influences, Moon particularly for his melodicism, explaining that the way the ukulele has been played in Hawaii diverges from its perception outside. He clarifies, however, that he believes there’s no wrong way. He clarifies this by explaining that Lyle Ritz developed a method much unlike anything on Hawaii, using a baritone ukulele, but that’s become the jazz style of ukulele playing. 36:36 Shimabukuro tells how he got to meet Eddie Kamae, including a visit while he was in hospice, during which he told Shimabukuro to always play “to his wife,” which Shimabukuro took to mean to play from the heart. 38:21 Shimabukuro relates that his social warmth grew from an upbringing in Hawaii, sharing an anecdote that his grandma would start waving out the window at distant cars while driving, knowing she’d know whoever was in the other car even if she didn’t yet know who it would be. 42:04 Demonstration Medley