Jake Shimabukuro collaborates with musical artists on new album

If there’s a single word that best sums up Jake Shimabukuro’s career, it’s “grateful.”

As a professional musician for 25 years and counting, the ukulele virtuoso has gone from local stardom to international acclaim. During that time, he has successfully explored new musical frontiers and collaborated with a galaxy of contemporary stars, including Mick Fleetwood, Willie Nelson, Ziggy Marley and Bette Midler.

“Grateful” is also the title of Shimabukuro’s newest album, which debuts Friday. In concept, the album is a bookend to “Jake & Friends,” a collection of duets released in 2021. On that record, the duets were recorded almost entirely with artists from outside Hawaii. This time, the majority of the participants are Hawaii residents and all have at least one thing in common.

“Everybody on this record, even the ones that are younger than me, I have been inspired by their music and they’re incredibly talented,” Shimabukuro said. The experience of recording with some of the musicians he grew up listening to was especially meaningful.

“When I get to record with Uncle Henry (Kapono) or Noland or Del Beazley or Kawika (Kahiapo) — when I was growing up, and for a lot of musicians who grew up here, those were The Guys!”

Shimabukuro says Brother Noland was one of his earliest inspirations.

“My dad used to take me to Brother Noland’s concerts when I was a little kid,” Shimabukuro said. “I used to always want to sit right in the front so I could watch his fingers.”

Noland remembers those long-ago days.

“Both Jake and (his younger brother) Bruce were sitting in front, and they’re just watching, these little Japanese boys,” Noland said recently. As Shimabukuro’s career evolved, he worked with Noland several times, on concert stages and in recording studios. On “Grateful,” Noland provides the vocals and guitar accompaniment on the popular Hawaiian standard “Hualalai.”

“I feel really proud to have made an impact or influence on some of these artists like Jake,” Noland said. “He takes his music out there to the world and yet he is still humble and respectful. He always honors me. I really appreciate that.”

Another of Shimabukuro’s guests on the album, Herb Ohta Jr., also has ties that go back to his early days.

Ohta, who partners with Shimabukuro in a Hawaiian medley on the new album, recalled when Shimabukuro first reached out to him for a lesson and turned out to be a quick study.

“I was teaching at Harry’s Music in Kaimuki, and he came by,” Ohta said. “Everything I showed him he just picked up right away, and after a while I said, ‘OK, you can go home now.’ ”

Ohta added that Shimabukuro continues to be passionate about learning.

“Jake will try and grasp knowledge anywhere he can, from anyone he can get a hold of, and that’s the brilliance of his passion … for him to be passionate about the instrument, and the way he expresses it genuinely, I think that’s what attracts his audience to him. He’s a very genuine person.”

Violinist Ignace “Iggy” Jang, concertmaster of the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, joins Shimabukuro on the track “Pianoforte,” which was recorded during the pandemic. Written by Shimabukuro, the instrumental song was performed by the pair as a duet in 2015 when Shimabukuro was a guest artist with the symphony.

Jang described the recording session with fondness.

“Jake has done it many times in different ways, and when we were working together (in 2015) I had my own violin arrangement for it, but then he kind of worked on it and he had other iterations of that tune,” Jang said. “In the dark days of the pandemic, not much was going on, and it was sort of an oasis when Jake called me out of the blue. … I was just happy to spend some time making music together. … That was a treasured moment during that time.

“Then several years later he sent me a text that our (recording) is going to be featured on the album. I am incredibly humbled and honored by that.”

Inaugural festival

Shimabukuro headlines the inaugural Hana Hou Music Festival Friday and Saturday at the Hawaii Theatre. He has brought together a diverse lineup of artists for each night, which includes Noland, Fleetwood, Kawika Kahiapo, Raiatea Helm, Mark Yamanaka and Kimie Miner.

The proceeds from the two-day festival and all donations will go to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund.

Aside from Shimabukuro, Fleetwood is the only other person who will be performing both nights.

“It’s just amazing,” Shimabukuro said of the opportunity to work with Fleetwood, the man who co-founded Fleetwood Mac. He described the experience as “surreal.”

“Mick’s drumming is incredible, as everyone knows, but it’s been so inspiring to work with him and to be able to play with him and just feel that energy and that groove and his sound. His intention when he plays is so incredible, and so when this festival came about we’re like, ‘How about we take some of this stuff that we’re doing in the studio and do it in front of an audience?’

“He’s just such an icon. I still have to pinch myself.”

Of special interest to the army of friends and fans who have been following Shimabukuro since his debut recording as a member of Pure Heart in 1998 is a reunion performance on Friday by the original trio — Shimabukuro, Lopaka Colon and Jon Yamasato.

“It’s been so nice to reconnect … Those two guys — Jon and Lopaka — were, hands down, my biggest influences because we started out playing together,” Shimabukuro said. “All of our firsts — our first concert, our first recording session, our first album, being on a big stage for the first time — all of those firsts, we did it together, the three of us.”

Also on the bill Friday are the Jets, the Tongan American family pop band known for hits such as “Crush on You” and “You Got It All.”

“I was such a huge fan when I was a kid,” Shimabukuro said. “This was like in the ’80s. I thought their songs were just incredible, they had a very distinctive sound, and their arrangements were very cool. So I’m stoked that they’re going to be at the festival. I think that’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Noland, Yamanaka and Miner, who all perform on Saturday, each partnered with Shimabukuro on the “Grateful” album.

The album’s title song, written by Justin Kawika Young, defines its theme and shares Shimabukuro’s personal feelings as well.

“We grew up playing right around the same time, we started our careers together, and we used to collaborate together way back in the day,” Shimabukuro said. “Recently we reconnected and started touring together, and every night we would play his song ‘Grateful.’ The message of that song, especially coming out of the pandemic and playing music again in front of a live audience, is to be more appreciative, more grateful, and be more in the moment.

“That’s what this project is about. It’s about just sharing my gratitude to all the artists that inspired me and truly made me who I am. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for all these incredible mentors and role models that I had in my life.”

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Hana Hou Music Festival

>> Where: Hawaii Theatre, 1130 Bethel St.

>> When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

>> Cost: $65-$150 per night, $720-$2,000 for two-day VIP packages, $50 per night to livestream the show

>> Info: 808-528-0506 or hawaiitheatre.com

>> Note: Profits from the festival and all donations will be given to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund.