Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro’s new collaborative album with Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood, Blues Experience, was released on October 18. The 10-track, mostly instrumental collection features Fleetwood and Shimabukuro teaming on versions of several classic blues songs, a few tunes from the rock world, and one new blues composition.
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In a new interview with American Songwriter, Shimabukuro discussed how the project came about. He also dished on the experience of making an album with the beloved Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
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Jake explained that he and Mick first began talking about working on a project together when he went to see Fleetwood Mac perform in Nashville a few years ago and was invited backstage after the show. Plans were solidified about a year or so later, when Fleetwood brought his family to see Shimabukuro play a concert on the Hawaiian island of Maui, where Mick has a home.
Again talking backstage, Shimabukuro recalled that he and Fleetwood decided to “just go into the studio with a handful of songs and … just see what happens, because we had never played together before.”
The sessions took place at Fleetwood’s home studio in the Kula region of Maui. They were joined by bassist Jackson Waldhoff and, on most tracks, keyboardist Michael Grande. Acclaimed blues guitarist Sonny Landreth also contributed to the album, as did keyboardist Mark Johnstone, who’s a longtime member of Fleetwood’s own solo blues band.
Jake noted that the decision to focus on blues had to do with Fleetwood’s long association with the genre. Mick was briefly a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers before co-founding Fleetwood Mac, which began as a blues outfit led by singer/guitarist Peter Green.
On Recording with Fleetwood
Shimabukuro said recording with Fleetwood was “a dream come true,” noting that he was “a huge fan” of the drummer.
He also highly praised Fleetwood for his approach to working with other musicians in the studio.
“Mick is just such a generous guy and … he’s such a legend and an icon,” Jake said. “[He was] such a generous spirit to give us that opportunity to record with him and reimagine these iconic blues [and] rock tunes.”
He added, “[I]t was just a stunning experience, and I learned so much from it. I grew so much from it. You know, he’s so encouraging, so he really tried to get me to play out of my comfort zone. And he just said, ‘Oh, just have fun. [G]o for it, be experimental, and just play.’ And that’s kind of what we did.”
Details About the Track List
Blues Experience includes versions of the blues standard “Rollin’ and Tumblin’,” which Muddy Waters famously recorded in 1950; “Need Your Love So Bad,” a Little Willie John tune that the Green-era Fleetwood Mac covered; Albert King’s “I Wanna Get Funky”; and Gary Moore’s “Still Got the Blues.” The album also features the Stevie Wonder-penned “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” a song famously recorded by Jeff Beck.
Songs from the rock genre appearing on the album are Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale,” Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” and the Fleetwood Mac ballad “Songbird,” which was written and originally sung by the late Christine McVie.
The original song, “Kula Blues,” was written by Shimabukuro, and is about the area where Fleetwood lives on Maui.
About the Cover of “Rockin’ in the Free World”
Prior to Blues Experience’s arrival, “Rollin’ N Tumblin’,” “Whiter Shade of Pale,” and “Need Your Love So Bad” were released as advance tracks. Coinciding with the album’s release, the cover of “Rockin’ in the Free World” became the latest focus track.
Shimabukuro revealed to American Songwriter that the reason he recorded “Rockin’ in the Free World” was that he was asked to do the song for a Neil Young tribute album. Since he already was working with Fleetwood on the Blues Experience album, he asked Mick if he wanted to play on the recording and he said yes.
“[W]e had so much fun doing it,” Jake shared. “We were like jumping up and down like it was a live concert.”
Shimabukuro liked the version they did of “Rockin’ in the Free World” so much that he asked the organizers of the Young tribute if they’d mind if he also included the track on his own album. They were fine with that, so the song will appear on both projects.
About the “Songbird” Cover
Two versions of “Songbird” appear on Blues Experience, an instrumental rendition and one featuring Fleetwood reciting McVie’s lyrics. The spoken-word version actually was first released in July 2023 in honor of what would’ve been Christine’s 80th birthday.
Shimabukuro revealed that “Songbird” was the only track on the album recorded in one take. He also said the session was intense emotional and an almost spiritual experience.
“I could tell it was a pretty emotional moment … for Mick,” Jake recalled. “And I remember when we talked about recording it, we didn’t go into too much detail of how we were gonna … play the song.”
Shimabukuro noted that the take was very improvisational, with the musicians playing intuitively and with restraint.
As he pointed out, “[T]he song kind of played itself.”
Jake also explained that a heavy moment came just as they finished playing the tune.
“[When Mick stopped playing,] there was this moment of like silence,” Shimabukuro remembered. “[I]t was really powerful. And then he kind of open his eyes, and he looked at us, and he said that he could feel Christine’s presence with us in the studio. And that was like, wow, that was so deep.”
Shimabukuro’s Touring Plans
Shimabukuro has been playing select tunes from Blues Experience at his recent tour dates. He recently launched a multiple-show engagement at the Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu that wraps up on October 23. He also has a couple more gigs scheduled in Hawaii in the coming week.
In November and December, Shimabukuro will launch his “Holidays in Hawaii” tour, which will visit venues throughout the Western U.S. Just prior to that trek, he’ll participate in the 2024 edition of Joe Walsh’s VetsAid benefit concert on November 11 in Elmont, New York. Jake also is part of the lineup of this year’s Allman Betts Family Revival, scheduled for December 16 in Nashville.
In addition, Shimabukuro has three concerts lined up in Ontario, Canada, in late January and early February, 2025.
Tickets for Shimabukuro’s concerts are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
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