Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55468 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Customer Reviews

Outstanding for listening and for learning
While I am not necessarily a fan of so-called "shred" playing, which to me is playing lightning fast just because you can, I think the right and left hand playing techniques Jake demonstrates in this video are really helpful, even if one does not plan to play them as fast as he does. He does a good job explaining what he's doing and how he does it, and you can tell he just loves playing music and teaching. The video quality did not bother me as it did some others.

This is a great video for intermediate players who want to kick up their strumming proficiency in a dramatic way. These are good techniques that anyone can use to illustrate various songs, even if theyre not played as fast as Jake plays.

The bonus to me was the performance footage. While this is not the ukulele style that I most prefer, I can definitely respect what he's doing and how hard it is to do. This video is a terrific value and highly recommended.

A Treat For The Senses
Although the camera work is a bit amateurish and mis-directed, as others have stated, this is a wonderful DVD and the first I saw of this incredibly talented artist. The parts that DO show his fingering and technique are amazing. I just watched the A & E Biography of Hendrix (for the eleventeenth time!) and was amazed at the technique he used was and still is unparallelled. Same with Jake. All I could think of throughout the whole dvd was, "Wow! I'd love to hear him with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones or June Yamagishi and Papa Grows Funk." Two other bands that like Jake, are known to a very small segment. Hey! College DJ's! Play some Jake Shimabukuro and get the national recognition going! Overall, this is an enjoyable dvd especially if you've never seen him before. And it's great to put on and queue to the playing portion---then just listen. Fantabulous!

Jake is great.....DVD doesn't do him justice!
While this is the best DVD showing Jake in concert and even a face-on demonstration of ukulele technique and stylings, there is a tendency for the camera work to become a distraction. In one segment of Jake playing in a small cafe type environment, why does the cameraman try to get fancy (or maybe trying to show photo techniques) by filming Jake with a post in the way, or focusing on his back?. I found myself trying to get the camera back to Jake playing his ukulele and watching his amazing hands and fingers fly across the strings. To me, the focus should be on the amazing talent of Jake Shimabukuro, not the embellishment of the producer's attempt to show how creative he can be to sell this DVD. Sometimes simple is more important than being avant garde. Let Jake sell the product by his playing......and let the producers humbly get out of the way.