Jake Shimabukuro

Ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro has taken the four-string, two-octave instrument to places no one could have imagined, ranging freely across the music spectrum from jazz, blues, and funk to bluegrass, classical, flamenco, and folk. Emerging in the early 2000s, Shimabukuro became well-known in Japan and Hawaii and found international success in 2006 after posting a virtuosic rendition of the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" online, which went viral. Since then, he has released dozens of solo albums -- his 2020 effort Trio reached number one on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart -- soundtracks, and collaborations with well-known musicians including Jake & Friends (2021) and Grateful (2023).