Jake Shimabukuro Shares A Blues Experience with Mick Fleetwood
Photo: Sienna Morales (Shimabukuro); Daniel Sullivan (Fleetwood)
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“I never thought I would see a pairing like this. I mean, even removing myself from the picture, just thinking about Mick Fleetwood and the ukulele, the mix of those two elements, I never would have imagined that in my wildest dreams,” Jake Shimabukuro says, as he considers Blues Experience, his new record with the Fleetwood Mac drummer.
Of course, part of the reason that Blues Experience is such a splendid creative expression is due to Shimabukuro’s contributions as co-leader, principal soloist and songwriter.
The album’s origins can be traced back to the late ‘90s, when Shimabukuro, a Honolulu native, first met Fleetwood, who lives in Maui, at the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards (often described as the Hawaiian Grammys). More than 20 years later, they reconnected in Nashville when Fleetwood Mac tour manager Marty Hom invited Shimabukuro to a concert during a fortuitous night off.
Shimabukuro recalls, “Marty brought us backstage so we could say hi to Mick, who was so welcoming. Then fast-forward eight or nine months later, after their tour was done, I was playing at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, and we invited him and his family. I think that was the first time he actually saw my whole show. Then he came backstage and was like, ‘Let’s work on a recording project together.’”
It turned out they both happened to have a few open dates the following month. “We booked some time in the studio just to see what would happen,” the ukulele virtuoso remarks. “There was no pressure to record an album; we were just going into the studio to jam a little and see if it felt right.”
They received an affirmative answer and returned a few weeks later to complete the effort.
In contemplating the common ground from which to collaborate, the pair decided to focus on the blues. This allowed Fleetwood to revisit one of his earliest enthusiasms. Back in 1967, the initial version of Fleetwood Mac also featured renowned guitarist Peter Green, who, like Fleetwood, was a John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers alum. Shimabukuro reveals, “Mick told me stories about how every time Peter Green would play, guys like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton would show up and sit right in the front row to watch him because they all wanted to play like him.”
As for Shimabukuro’s connection to the genre, he explains, “I’ve always loved the sound of the slide and the bending of strings, which is very common in blues music. They always talk about the blues note, which is that pitch in between the major third and the minor third. It’s almost like you need to have this chromaticism in your instrument to get that note. So you bend to it or if you have a slide, you can slide in between the frets to get that note. I grew up listening to that sound because the lap-steel guitar and slide were invented here, and it all predates Robert Johnson. It influenced the slide guitar, which later influenced rock-and-roll and R&B. So, even though the album is pretty modern and progressive, it still ties itself back to the traditional sounds of Hawaii.”
Shimabukuro and Fleetwood were joined in the studio by Jackson Waldhoff (bass) and Michael Grande (keys), with Mick Fleetwood Blues Band keyboardist Mark Johnstone also appearing on a couple of tracks. There they interpreted some classics, including “Rollin’ N Tumblin’,” “Still Got the Blues” and “Need Your Love So Bad” (which Fleetwood had originally recorded with Green on 1968’s Mr. Wonderful). In addition, they delivered original takes on “Songbird,” “Whiter Shade of Pale” and “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
When it came to selecting the material, Shimabukuro notes, “We both brought songs to the table. He really wanted to do something special for Christine McVie, and that’s why we did ‘Songbird.’ When we started it, Mick kind of went into this trance with his eyes closed, and we all slowly crept in and played. Then when we were done, the keyboardist, the bass player and I all kind of stopped, while Mick was still going with the groove and he just took us out. When he was done, he opened his eyes and he looked so moved. He told us that he felt Christine’s presence, and he was able to tell her goodbye. That was the only time we played that, and it was one of those powerful moments where music can conjure up feelings in a way that words can’t. I’ll never forget it.”
Blues Experience also includes Shimabukuro’s “Kula Blues,” which is named after the section of Maui where Fleetwood resides. Shimabukuro points to Sonny Landreth as the inspiration for the composition. He remembers, “I met Sonny Landreth through Jimmy Buffett when I used to play a lot with the Coral Reefer Band. Sonny creates sounds that I’ve never heard anybody make and his dynamic range is just insane. We did some stuff at the New Orleans Jazz Festival years ago, and one night, I went back to my hotel room and I started messing around with some of the stuff that I had heard him doing. Sonny and I actually recorded a version with just the two of us, but we never really finished it. Then when this project came about, I played it for Mick and he was like, ‘Oh, yeah, let’s do that.’”
Shimabukuro later called Landreth after they’d recorded the song, which prompted an invitation. The ukulelist reveals, “Sonny and I had previously played ‘Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers’ [the Stevie Wonder original from Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow], so I said, ‘We’d love to get you on this record. Can I send you the tracks?’ That’s the only song where someone wasn’t actually live in the studio with us, but we had to get him on this record since he’s my favorite slide-guitar player and, every time we get together, we always talk about Jeff Beck.”
Some of the other songs not only succeed in this new context, but also serve as signposts to the original recordings and the artists who performed them. For instance, when it comes to their powerful take on Gary Moore’s “Still Got the Blues,” Shimabukuro indicates, “If somebody came up to me and said, ‘‘Still Got the Blues’ sounds great,’ I would be the first to tell them: ‘You’ve got to hear the guitar solo at the end of the original.’ What Gary Moore does at the end of the original ‘Still Got the Blues’ is one of the most epic guitar solos ever recorded. It’s ridiculous.”
All in all, Shimabukuro is particularly effusive about Fleetwood’s commitment to the project and likens him to a point guard. “Mick brings this energy and excitement that elevates the band and makes everybody play better,” he raves. “We had no idea how we were going to approach any song; we would just agree on a key and start. Then we’d follow Mick because he’s the playmaker and, when he hits the drums, you immediately know what you’re supposed to do.”
Then Shimabukuro adds, “It all came together pretty quickly and through Mick’s generosity. To have his support and to make this music with him was not just a dream come true, it’s like a dream I never could have dreamed of.”
