If you wonder what else can be done with strings and picking, get a load of the sounds from Jake Simabukuro, who plays various types of the ukulele. This is not Polynesia night at a Luau, or The Tiki Room in Disneyland, but a bona fide album with a flexible rhythm team of Nolan Verner/b and Evan Hutchings/dr taking the music to a different plane of existence.
The album comes off as a bit of a ukulele sampler, as moods ranging from 70s rock (“Man of Mud”), modern jazz (“Blue Haiku”) and even a mix of Gaellic is thrown in during “Galloping Seahorses.” Verner’s bass licks team with Hutchings to drive the exciting “6/8” which has Shimabukuro sounding like a harp, while the band gets low ceiling smoky on ”Hemiola Blues.” The versatility of the instrument is impressive, and the album doesn’t come across as a curiosity piece, more like a “there’s more to come” in attitude. Pay attention!