November 21, 2024 | Miner Auditorium SFJAZZ
by Dave Golden
Jake Shimabukuro brought the warmth and beauty of Hawaii to a rainy and chilly San Francisco evening with his Holidays in Hawaii show at the SFJAZZ Center. Accompanied by bassist Jackson Waldhoff and singer-songwriter Justin Kawika Young, the ukulele virtuoso performed two captivating sets, filling the room with enchanting melodies that blended traditional holiday classics with his signature, genre-defying style.
The evening opened with Jake’s iconic rendition of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Shifting into holiday mode, the trio delivered a Beatles-inspired version of the Christmas classic “We Three Kings,” followed by Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.” Embracing the Hawaiian take on an island Christmas, they also performed “A Place in the Sun” before concluding the set with a moving rendition of “O Holy Night.”
The second set began with the traditional Japanese folk song “Sakura Sakura.” Jackson Waldhoff then joined Jake to showcase tracks from Shimabukuro’s most recent album, Blues Experience, including a mesmerizing rendition of Jeff Beck’s “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers.” Paying homage to Jimmy Buffett and Phil Lesh, Jake offered a standout medley of Buffett’s “Margaritaville” and the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil,” inspired by Jimmy Buffett’s quote: “I love it when Parrotheads and Deadheads come together.” The set concluded with a spirited version of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The show also featured two of Justin Kawika Young’s original songs, “Never Forget Where I Am From” and “Many Feathers.” For the encore, the trio performed Kawika and a heartfelt cover of Jesse Colin Young’s “Get Together.”
Throughout the evening, Shimabukuro demonstrated his extraordinary talent for effortlessly transitioning his ukulele across diverse genres, infusing each note with both delicate nuance and awe-inspiring power.
Jake Shimabukuro’s Holidays in Hawaii
November 21-24 at SFJAZZ
Leave a reply