San Francisco Jazz Festival presents Jake Shimobukuro

I am not a big jazz guy… actually, more of a R&B fan. When a friend offered me tickets to see Jake Shimabukuro performing at Davies Symphony Hall as part of the 27^th Annual San Francisco Jazz Festival, I could not refuse. I am not familiar with his music other than seeing him as a Grammy nominee or winner in the past few years. How can a ukulele be a jazz instrument? I soon found out.
Arriving just before 7 pm for a 7:30 pm performance, we caught the end of a Q&A session and heard him mention that he is a Beatles fan (how old are you???). The concert started about 7:40 pm and I was worried that I would fall asleep if the music was too slow. As he played the first set, he displayed his passion for his music and instrument as he did things I never knew could be done on a uke. He spoke about his love for music and its variety of genres.
For me, the second set really caught my attention as he played a few Beatles (
) and George Harrison (
) songs. Another highlight was playing Ave Maria, a fitting song for Davies Symphony Hall. The audience ranged from teenagers to symphony goers, the majority in their 20’s and 30’s. After his performance, he stayed to sign autographs and take photos with attendees at a table set up in the lobby area. I strongly recommend anyone who’s never seen him to catch him the next time he’s in the area. Also, applause to SF Jazz Festival for getting him to perform here. Hopefully, he’ll be back for the 28^th annual festival. I’ll be there if he is.