Jake Shimabukuro & Mick Fleetwood – Blues Experience
Forty Below Records – 2024
9 tracks: 45 minutes
Blues Experience from “ukulele marvel” Jake Shimabukuro is—according to the one-pager and Shimabukuro’s website—a fresh take on the blues. Collaborating with Shimabukuro is drummer, blues legend, and founding member of Fleetwood Mac…Mick Fleetwood. As the one-pager states, the result of this collaboration “is something exhilarating and unique, as these two titans of their instruments reinterpret some of the greatest songs written by some of their favorite songwriters in (the) blues setting.”
Shimabukuro started playing the ukulele at the age of four and became of local phenom in Honolulu, Hawaii, performing on his own and in a local band. According to his website, he gained “prominence in the early 2000s, mesmerizing audiences with his innovative and dynamic style (and) taking his instrument to dizzying new heights.” For those blues fans unfamiliar with Shimabukuro’s work, his craftsmanship is incredible and the tones and sounds emanating from his ukulele are almost otherworldly.
Shimabukuro became a YouTube sensation and toured all over the world, playing the Sydney Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, and the Lincoln Center to name a few more notable venues. He was a member of the late Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, and Shimabukuro has collaborated or performed with the likes of Bette Midler, Ziggy Marley, Willie Nelson, Yo-Yo Ma, Billy Strings, and Jack Johnson.
Joining Shimabukuro and Fleetwood on the album are Jackson Waldhoff on bass guitar, Michael Grande and Mark Johnstone on keyboards, and, on the album’s first track, veteran blues guitarist Sonny Landreth.
Blues Experience starts off with “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” the Stevie Wonder song best known as played and recorded by the late British guitarist Jeff Beck. This track features Sonny Landreth’s inspired guitar play. Next up is “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” attributed to Hambone Willie Newbern and best known as a Muddy Waters’ standard. This “Rollin’…” is rather stylized but still hits the mark. “Whiter Shade of Pale,” the Procol Harum classic also hits the mark with Shimabukuro, Fleetwood, and company playing a tight upbeat arrangement. Gary Moore’s “Still Got the Blues” continues that tight arranging with distinctive keyboards by Michael Grande.
Neil Young’s classic anthem “Rockin’ in the Free World” benefits from Fleetwood’s drumming and Waldhoff’s driving bass. Fleetwood Mac’s “Need Your Love So Bad” is given that old-time blues treatment with terrific keys by Mark Johnstone. “Need Your Love…” is a great example of how Shimabukuro’s technique sounds exactly like a high-tuned electric guitar. “I Wanna Get Funky,” recorded by Albert King for Stax Records, is another number that benefits from a tight arrangement and Shimabukuro’s expert picking technique.
Finally, “Kula Blues,” the album’s one original number, is an ode to that bluesy shuffle sound familiar to blues fans worldwide.
Jake Shimabukuro is certainly a master of his instrument and Blues Experience is a testament to his innovation, dedication, and creativity. Definitely worth a listen, or two.
