Four Strings and the Truth

MUSIC NOTES Al Tizon

Four Strings and the Truth

consider cute at best and more appropriate for a back-to-school luau than a rock-and-roll stage.

And not only rock, but folk, classical, disco, country, bluegrass, and funk—in the hands of Shimabukuro, the ukulele can do it all. Four strings and the truth On a cold, drizzly night at the Baby are apparently all this guy needs (with Grand Theatre in Wilmington, Del., the apologies to Hendrix and U2).

“Of course people think I’m good,” star of the evening walks up to the mike as casually as he’s dressed and says play- he says humbly at one point in the fully, slowly,“Aaaaaloha,Wilmington”— evening. “When they come to listen to and then proceeds to treat the audience an ukulele player, expectations are so to an unforgettable night of hypnotic low I can only go up.”

Shimabukuro’s latest offering, Live, charm, down-to-earth humor, and some captures the laughs, the background to badass ukulele.

That’s right, an ukulele (it’s not a certain songs, and of course, the unique typo; we do need to say an ukulele since skills of arguably the greatest ukulele it’s properly pronounced oo-koo-LAY-lay) player on the planet. His extraordinary —a two-octave, four-stringed instrument covers of Bach’s “Two-Part Invention that makes one think of hula dancing, No. 4 in D Minor” and Michael Jackson’s grass skirts, and big-boned men playing “Thriller” demonstrate the range of his disproportionately small instruments on musical interpretations, while his own a tropical island rather than a crowd of compositions —“Let’s Dance,” “Five wild-eyed fans in a swank, East Coast Dollars Unleaded,” and “Me & Shirley music hall, whooping and hollering at T” are some of my favorites—display a playfulness that reflects a musician truly the end of each mesmerizing song.

There’s a reason that Hawaiian-born enjoying his craft. Live albums are a virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro (pronounced funny thing, though—they often pale in she-ma-BOO-koo-row) is called “the comparison to the actual live show, but Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele.” This guy they’re worth having in your CD colwails on his instrument with the passion, lection. Live is no exception; it should intensity, and bad intentions that would be in your stack, but not without his make Hendrix proud, a talent made all 2006 studio release, Gently Weeps the more remarkable for being per- (Hitchhike Records), and not without formed on something rock snobs would seeing him in person the next time he blows through your town.

I remember the first time I gave Gently Weeps a listen. It was my day off, and I had a stack of borrowed CDs, which included this one, to keep me entertained. I glanced at the unassuming cover and saw a name I had a hard time pronouncing. World music category, I thought. Strike 1. And the title suggests he’s going to try to cover a classic Beatles song. Good luck with that.

Strike 2. For some reason I threw it on anyway and went about my business. As the first track got going, I realized I was PRISM 2009

46

listening to an ukulele. Strike…“Hmm,” I thought, “George Harrison would be pleased with how clear an interpretation this is.” I listened more intently.

“This is pretty good.”Then, clarity gave way to magic as the melancholy song transformed into desperate intensity.The sounds coming out of that lone ukulele could only come by way of lightningspeed hands, the left maintaining the melody (and therefore the integrity) of the song, and the right mercilessly pummeling the strings. It became Shimabukuro’s song, going beyond Harrison like a runner with a second wind surpassing the rest. The ferocity lasted for a breathtaking minute or so, but then as the song crescendoed toward the finish line, he slowed it down, as if out of respect for the originator. Yes, this was George Harrison’s song, but Shimabukuro covered it like no one else I’d ever heard. Harrison’s widow, Olivia, confirmed the power of Shimabukuro’s rendition by telling him backstage, after a performance in Honolulu, that she felt George’s presence as he played the song.

It was his cover of “Gently Weeps” that catapulted him to stardom, after his 2006 performance of the song in Central Park was circulated via YouTube. The sheer number of hits (1.5 million to date) from all over the world changed his life, he said. Playing the ukulele for him went from personal obsession and local

fame to record deals, world tours, and appearances on national TV such as NBC’s Late Show with Conan O’Brian.

Personally, his music has opened my mind to the truth that beautiful, wordless music in and of itself can lead one to the throne of God. Listening to Shimabukuro is a spiritual experience, which is weird coming from someone who relies heavily on thoughtful, spiritual lyrics even more than catchy melodies. A tune may be inviting, but my guarded self asks, “What is the singer or band telling me?” before I judge a song to be worthy or otherwise.

Lyrically dependent, I have shown little patience for instrumental music,

unless drum solos or electric guitar interludes amidst long songs count. For the most part, instrumentals bore me to tears.

From classical to Kenny G, it all sounds like elevator music to me. Admittedly, even when he plays softly and sweetly, as he does in some of his songs, I reflexively start yawning.When he keeps the intensity level high, however, lyrics would be distracting (especially since he admits he can’t sing).They would get in the way of the upward journey toward Mt. Zion as one is swept away by the pure sounds of Jake Shimabukuro and his amazing ukulele.

So is there change afoot? My deep enjoyment for what this unlikely virtuoso can do gives me hope that I can in fact

sense the presence of the Almighty by way of wordless excellence. A beautifully played set of chords really can be worth a thousand words.Truth really can be conveyed by something other than speech.

While I suspect I won’t be saying, “Hallelujah! Wasn’t that Schubert piece simply marvelous?” anytime soon, perhaps now the door is ever so slightly open.

Al Tizon wishes at times he could be Jake Shimabukuro. But most of the time, he is quite content to be assistant professor of holistic ministry at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa., director of ESA’s Word & Deed Network, and regular columnist for PRISM Magazine.

a common scenario: divorced with two kids and a mortgage.

She could not afford the mortgage payments, and her house was put into foreclosure. Margarita filed for bankruptcy and hired “justice gap.” In partnership with the Philadelphia Christian the cheapest bankruptcy attorney she could find to assist her in Legal Aid Society, Ayuda provides one-hour sessions with the process, but the attorney overestimated Margarita’s income practicing attorneys free of charge; beyond that, clients can as well as her ability to make her monthly bankruptcy agreebe placed on a referral list and, in many instances, Ayuda ment payments. Margarita’s inability to navigate the legal attorneys choose to provide complete legal representation. system and understand the jargon put her at a grave disadCurrently, Ayuda’s Free Legal Clinic sees between 200 and vantage. The banks could offer her no help, and the attorney 250 cases a year, from home foreclosures to immigration simply stated there was nothing more to be done. assistance. Their client base consists of individuals who canIt was at that point that Margarita stepped into Ayuda’s not afford an attorney but do not qualify for assistance from Free Legal Clinic and met Kellermeyer, who had experience a publicly funded clinic, which is partially based upon with foreclosures. After 20 hours of phone calls, he discovered income. More than half of Hunting Park residents live at 200 that the bankruptcy lawyer had filed Margarita’s papers incorpercent of the poverty line, while 44 percent fall below the rectly; just two days before her house was scheduled to be poverty line. auctioned off, the mortgage company rescinded the forecloRoughly 10 percent of the Free Legal Clinic’s cases are sure, the judge approved it, a restructured file for bankruptcy focused on immigration issues. Of every 10 cases involving was opened, and her payments were adjusted. Two years later immigrants, about three are undocumented and seven docu- Kellermeyer and Margarita still keep in touch. She still lives in mented. One of the primary foci for the undocumented the same house and has been keeping up with her payments. immigrants is acquiring legal status to remain in the United Ayuda’s efforts are time-consuming but unflagging, guided States.The documented immigrants, conversely, want to move by their clear mission statement: “to reveal Jesus’ mercy, restoraon to the next step of maintaining their legal status, for exam- tion, and justice in Hunting Park so that families and neighple, transitioning from worker visa status to green-card status. borhoods are transformed…through community development Other ways that the clinic serves the immigrant population efforts, direct services, and advocacy.” include acquiring benefits for their children, helping families stay in their homes, and attempting to reunite families by bring- Learn more at ayudacc.org. ing remaining family members into the country.

Kellermeyer tells the story of Margarita, an immigrant Rosario A. Díaz-Cintrón works as the administrative and public woman who came to the United States in the hopes of pro- relations assistant to the president of Esperanza, one of the largest viding a better life for her family but ultimately found herself in Hispanic evangelical network in the United States.

Go and Do Likewise continued from page 33.

PRISM 2009

47