Jake Shimabukuro says his parents still have the final word on his records. “When I played them The Greatest Day, they both said it was their favorite one I’ve ever done,” he laughs. “I’m a grown man, but I’m still trying to please my parents.”
The new album — part joyous experiment, part spiritual reset — marks another step in the ukulele virtuoso’s ongoing mission to prove that the tiny four-string can do just about anything. He recorded much of it in Nashville, a place he admits isn’t the obvious choice for a Hawaiian ukulele player. “Nashville’s the home of songwriters,” he says. “I went there to get inspired, to see what happens when you put that creative energy in a room with this little instrument.”
The result is a shimmering set that balances technical brilliance with disarming warmth — a record that sounds just as good in headphones as it probably did when Shimabukuro first brought it home to his parents. The title track, written in a sleepless burst the night before the first studio session, became a metaphor for the whole project. “That song is about contrary motion,” he explains. “There’s a descending line on one part of the ukulele and an ascending melody on another. It’s like life — you’ll always have things pulling you down, but as long as you keep moving forward, every day can be the greatest day.”
He cut the album with some Nashville heavy hitters, including dobro legend Jerry Douglas, who appears on three tracks — one of them a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9.” The Hendrix connection isn’t lost on Shimabukuro, who’s been called “the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele” for years. “I always stayed away from covering him because… how do you cover Hendrix?” he says. “But once Jerry said he wanted to play, I thought, well, if you’re gonna do Hendrix, you might as well bring in the world’s greatest dobro player.” The track evolved into a psychedelic jam full of wah pedals, overdriven amps, and pure improvisational joy. “We just went wild,” he says. “It was supposed to be four minutes, and it turned into six. That’s the beauty of the studio.”
That studio, he admits, has become as thrilling to him as the stage. “I used to love performing more,” he says. “But now I don’t know which I like better — the rush of a live audience or the creativity of layering sounds in the studio.”
And the collaborations are far from over. He’s already working on a duets album featuring Michael McDonald, Willie Nelson, and Ray Benson. “We just finished a couple of songs with Michael,” he says. “I know The Greatest Day is new, but I can’t stop recording.”
Shimabukuro’s enthusiasm remains contagious — a mix of childlike wonder and veteran discipline. “Every day I still learn something new about the ukulele,” he says. “It’s such a young instrument. I just want to see how far it can go.”
Listen to the interview above and then check out the video below!
