5 Things To Know About 'Ukulele Virtuoso' Jake Shimabukuro

Shimabukuro told PBS that he was first given a ukulele at age four by his mother, who also was his first teacher. He said he also worked with Tami Akiyama, who is now Tami Omuro, at a ukulele school and studied with her for five or six years. He said Akiyama “made music fun for (him)” and encouraged practice at home. He said that he remembered “rush(ing) home from school” so that he could work on the ukulele. His parents divorced when he was young with Shimabukuro saying that it became a dynamic between he and his younger brother, Bruce, to pick up the slack since his mother worked several jobs.

Shimabukuro didn’t realize the video had been put on the internet in April 2006 when his rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” became a sensation on YouTube. The video, which had millions of views, led to requests from artists such as Jimmy Buffett, Yo-Yo Ma, and Cyndi Lauper wanting to collaborate with the then 30-year-old Jake. Shimabukuro told PBS that he initially believed he was recording the rendition for a local television show in New York called “Ukulele Disco” and returned home to Hawaii after the segment was done. Back home, he began receiving messages from friends saying the video had gone viral on YouTube with millions of views. “I started getting calls from other bands and artists, and venues, people saying like, Hey, we want you to come play at our venue, or we want you to come open for our band, or record with us on our next record. And it was just incredible,” he said.

Bruce, who is 34-years-old, has released a number of albums on the ukulele as well, including a track that Jake contributed to called “Ukulele Bros” on his album, “Peace Love Ukulele.” Jake said that he and Bruce became best friends after their parents’ divorce. “We just did whatever we had to do to help each other out, because I think that’s how our family always operated. It was like, we always just understood that we were a team and we all had to do our part.”

The organization is focused on bringing performance acts and community outreach to schools, assisted living centers, and hospitals as a way to promote healthy lifestyles with a connection to music. Shimabukuro performed with the organization in Sendai, Japan following the 2011 tsunami that devastated the area. Music is Good Medicine dissolved with Shimabukuro forming the Four Strings Foundation in 2013 with the focus on creating music education around the world. "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,” he told Guitar Player in 2013.

The original 2004 film was written and directed by Alexander Payne and starred Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh. It went on to win the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and was remade in 2009 in Japan. The film, called Saidoweizu, was Shimabukuro’s second film composition work following the 2006 film, “Hula Girls.” He has gone on to also compose music for a series of documentaries and shorts.