Makes Me Wanna Uke: Jake Shimabukuro and "Less Cowbell, More Ukulele"

Jake Shimabukuro, a fifth generation Japanese-American who is redefining the ukulele through his virtuosity, brings the random tune for today. Known for fast and complex finger work, Jake Shimabukuro mixes all kinds of elements into his music, including jazz, blues, funk, rock, bluegrass, classical, folk and flamenco. He is well known in his home state of Hawaii, but gained international recognition in 2006 for a video capturing him and his rendition of The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which was posted on YouTube without his permission and became one of the first viral videos. He has become very popular in Japan, where he tours often. He originally used effects pedals to alter the sound of the ukulele, but in the past number of years has relied on the instrument's natural sounds. He has won numerous awards, and has been declared a "music hero" by Rolling Stone. This song, Less Cowbell, More Ukulele (also known as More Ukulele), can be found on his 2012 album Grand Ukulele. This version is a special in-studio performance he did for PBS Hawaii.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Shimabukuro; http://jakeshimabukuro.com/