You couldn't make it up dept. no.43: World's greatest player on... you'll never believe it...

[fpb]

As a rule, this series features funny, improbable and sometimes stupid things. This is different. To begin with, I regard the Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps as musically the greatest piece of pop music ever written. The lyrics are nothing short of stupid - hippiedom at its worst - but they hardly matter: melody, harmony, counterpoint - there is hardly one classical composer who would not have killed for music as stunning as this.

On the other hand, I have been known to make ukulele jokes. Who hasn't? But there is a man in the US state of Hawaii, by name Jake Shimabukuro, who can give not just a creditable, but a simply stunning account of this masterpiece on the ukulele. And if you don't believe me, here's the link. http://youtube.com/watch?v=-J30S6hkiyU&search=ukelele

Well, in front of such musicianship I just fall silent and salute. Jake Shimabukuro is said to be the greatest ukulele player of all time, and I can well believe it. But one still has to wonder - if you are good enough to do that on the ukulele, why play the ukulele at all? Ah, well, lie back and enjoy.

Comments

[fpb.livejournal.com]

It sounds nice if Jake Shimabukuro plays it. That's like saying that Bach fugues sound nice on the classical guitar if Andres Segovia or the like play them. Most of us would never stand a chance.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Tee hee--well, I'm not going to be trying it on the ukulele myself, that's for sure.