Live in Japan

One man with four strings creates an entire bewitching musical universe for an enraptured crowd on this concert album by the Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso. Though aided in spots by a bassist and keyboardist, Shimabukuro unquestionably carries the show. His simultaneously lyrical and infectiously rhythmic uke playing travels all over the musical map, from a funk-inflected take on The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” to a journey through The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” that rises to a feverish pitch in a way that belies the size of the instrument in his hands.