'Ukulele: Four men, one instrument, four styles, one basic love

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

'The Art of Solo 'Ukulele' 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawai'i-Manoa $15 general, $10 students and seniors; on sale an hour before curtain at the box office or in advance at the UH Campus Center 956-7235, 956-8742 1879 — The braguinha, predecessor of the ‘ukulele, is brought to Hawai‘i by a Portuguese immigrant; Joao Fernandes plays it and Hawaiians take notice. 1915 — Hawaiian exhibit at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco introduces the 'uku-lele to the world. 1950 — "Arthur Godfrey and His 'Ukulele" TV show offers twice-a-week lessons to CBS viewers; from 1949 to '59, "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" frequently showcases the uke on CBS. 1968 — Tiny Tim records "Tip-Toe Thru' the Tulips With Me," featuring the uke on records and on TV. 1972 — First 'Ukulele Festival is held in Waikiki. The annual celebration was taken over a few years later by Roy Sakuma. 1974 — Herb "Ohta-san" Ohta scores an international hit with Andre Popp's "Song for Anna," which showcases the uke as a solo instrument. 1999 — Pure Heart captures the hearts of Hawai'i, thanks to Jake Shima-bukuro, whose animated, jumping-flea strumming style heralds a rebirth of interest in the little instrument. 2002 — Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, the late uke player-singer ("Over the Rainbow"), becomes the first islander to earn gold status from the Recording Industry Association of America for his home-grown "Facing Future" CD; his song is featured on an "ER" episode.

In the past year or so, they've been strung together in shows, on TV and yes, on a just-out CD.

They play together again, but mostly individually, to showcase their virtuosity on "The Art of Solo 'Ukulele" Saturday and Sunday at Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

"It's great fun, especially with this group," Yasui said of the strummers who have banded together to validate the 'ukulele as a solo concert instrument. "We're all so compatible and go out of our way to help each other out."

Yasui is 61, but doesn't look it, and a professor of music and chairman of music graduate studies at UH, where he has taught for 30 years. Thus, he's the resident scholar.

It's not their differences in playing that attracts public attention, said Yasui, commonly known and respected as a jazz bassist. "I think it's the other way around. Many people have never heard of us when we started out together, so they didn't know we represented a variety of styles. They just came because they liked the 'ukulele.

"Then they heard the variety of styles and were surprised that it was possible to play the uke in so many styles. At least, those are the most frequent comments I've heard after our concerts.

"When I selected my three colleagues, I had no idea we'd be such a big hit and that we'd represent so vastly different styles. We just play what we normally play and it just turned out to be four very different styles. So everybody goes home happy."

Shimabukuro, Chong and Mark — with diverse musical backgrounds — agree on the fun part.

"I haven't realized how popular the 'ukulele is, how much fun it is to play it," said Chong, 59, a former member of The Ali'is who is now a guitarist with the Don Ho Show at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. "Don got me playing uke, something I had put away for 30 years, and I have no regrets."

"The 'ukulele is my girlfriend," said Shimabukuro, 25, who has undeniably given the simple instrument its latest adrenaline with his contagious, rapid-right-hand-strumming style and body language. "My social life's nil; when I'm not playing music on stage, I'm practicing. The uke is my form of relaxation. My idea of fun."

Mark, 66, is a retired UH teacher. "I come on after intermission in the show, which Benny and Byron open, but right before Jake," he said.

"So I tell the audience I'm the lull before the storm. The first half is like going out with someone and spending a really nice evening out, the quiet moments of hand-holding, romantic whispers; the quiet can last only for so long, because when Jake comes on, there's energy, flash, fireworks. It's a good mix."

"The Art of the Solo 'Ukulele" has toured the Neighbor Islands and has been a popular series on Hawai'i Public Television's "Na Mele: Traditions in Hawaiian Song."

It's emerged as a show-and-tell vehicle that spotlights the versatility of the uke in the right hands. And different hands.

"It's exhausting when we do this tour," said the diminutive Shimabukuro, who's like the Energizer Bunny, with power to spare. "It brings out a different side of me. The thing I like best is that there's no ego; we're very tight, respectful of each other and the fact that we come from different places, yet can share the love of the music."

Shimabukuro is the showman, the newest kid on the block, the pied piper who is widening the appeal of the uke by drawing in followers. "I was playing a Kamaka standard when I was 4, but now I play a Kamaka tenor; I think Kamaka is the best. I played one so often, there was a hole in the sound board because of overuse; it's now my little collector's item," he said.

"Jake's a good role model; kids always come up to him," Mark said. "I would faint if I had to do what he does on stage. I just look at him and I get tired. But his energy radiates, back to the last row, off the walls; you can't help but feel positive about what he does."

Mark is the statesman, who once played the Waikiki circuit and now teaches the instrument. He owns a dozen ukes, including a cherished Kamaka tenor that Sam Kamaka himself made, plus a Kamaka baritone right off the shelf.

He also owns several Martin and Ko Aloha instruments and goes for sound quality, not fanciful trims. "To me, exotic woods don't cut it — the quality sound is what I'm after."

Yasui is the academician and practitioner, who owns six 'ukulele, including a standby Kamaka tenor, but has larger custom-made baritone ukes being made to accommodate his fingers and hand size. Among his collection: a Kamaka pineapple standard, a Hawaiian Heartstrings concert, a Martin tenor and a vintage baritone made out of coconut shells with a piece called "the nut" shaped from the bone of a dog. "I don't suppose it was a pet; may have been roadkill," he said.

Chong is the experimentalist, who played novelty songs and Hawaiian chalangalang favorites in the old days, but now favors the romantic over the rambunctious.

"My energy level is different from Jake's," he said, referring to playing style. "I can't move around because of the type of chords I play. I've got to hold my right arm and press the uke into my belly — kind of a Stanley Jordan type of thing — and you simply can't jump around."

The renewed public appearances have prompted Chong to finally finish, for release early next year, his first-ever jazz 'ukulele CD that he conceptualized back in the '70s.

The 'ukulele remains universally popular, Yasui said, because it's easy for a nonmusician to strum and to master, and it's relatively inexpensive compared with, say, a piano.

"Ukes are almost self-contained orchestras in the sense that one can play melody and chords, something you can't do on the saxophone, trumpet or other single-line instruments," Yasui said.

"Guitar and piano can go one better than the uke in that in addition to melody and chords, they can also provide the all-important bass lines, which the uke, with its very limited range, is incapable of doing. However, guitar requires larger hands, and because it can do more (than the uke), it demands more on the part of the player."

Simply put, "the uke is the instrument of Everyman," he said.

Reach Wayne Harada by e-mailing wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phoning 525-8067 or faxing 525-8055.