Album Art by Andrew Cook
Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro has united with veteran drummer and Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood to announce their impending album, aptly titled Blues Experience, due on October 18 via Forty Below Records. The project presents blues standards reinterpreted to reflect Shimabukuro and Fleetwood’s joint prowess while saving space for a lone original, “Kula Blues,” written by Shimabukuro, about the region in Hawaii that Fleetwood calls home.
“I’ve always wanted to do a Blues album, and when Mick and I started talking about working together, I thought who better to work with than Mick Fleetwood?” reflected Shimabukuro. Prior to the thought of an album, the duo’s history dates back to the late ‘90s, when Shimabukuro and Fleetwood first performed together at the Hawaiian Music Awards ceremony, along with Kenny Loggins. Decades later, the pair reconvened during a Fleetwood Mac reunion concert in Nashville, reawaking shared interests and musical intents that fully forged into the forthcoming joint entry.
Tapping added help–Shimabukuro’s touring bassist Jackson Waldhoff and keyboard player Michael Grande–the group began working on the studio album in Maui. And, with the help of Mark Johnstone from The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, the ensemble recorded a pair of cover songs, “Need Your Love So Bad” and “Rockin’ In The Free World.” What ensued was two three-day studio sessions, yielding a total of nine blues-laden tracks.
“Mick’s energy when he plays is so infectious. He’s such an intense musician. He pushes everyone around him, and it’s inspiring to see his facial expressions and watch his movement and the way he hits the drums,” Shimabukuro offered via press release. “Jake and I had a full let-it-all-go moment on this one!! Jake let his hair down. A Blues standard being given a wake-up call,” Fleetwood added.
Diverging from past interpretations, Shimabukuro and Fleetwood’s take on “Rollin’ N Tumblin’” ascends into the amalgamated musical category of psych and jazz-rock taking the track from a standard presentation to experimental and otherworldly with a genuinely unique rhythmic display paired with swirling strums–ultimately adding meaning to Shimabukuro’s status as the so-called “Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele.”
Listen/watch the official music video here.
Pre-order Blues Experience now.
TRACKLISTING
1 Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers
2 Rollin’ N Tumblin’
3 Need Your Love So Bad
4 Kula Blues
5 Whiter Shade of Pale
6 I Wanna Get Funky
7 Still Got The Blues
8 Rockin’ In The Free World
9 Songbird
10 Songbird (Mick spoken word)