(2nd gen), Christopher Kamaka (4th gen), Chris Kamaka (3rd gen), Fred Kamaka, Sr. “It’s like when you eat a really good dessert and you just feel compelled to tell people, ‘Oh my gosh, you have to try this.’ The ukulele is like that.” Three generations of Kamakas, from left to right: Dustin Kamaka (4th gen), Sam Kamaka, Jr.

“You can’t help but share it with other people,” he says. Later, Shimabukuro, whose concert repertoire includes blues, jazz and other generally haunting tunes (his rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” is particularly penetrating), admits that the ukulele’s unique ability to express joy has elevated the instrument to a cultural fetish on the mainland. Chris’s cousin, Fred Kamaka Jr., refers me instead to a 2006 viral video - nearly 15 million views and counting - in which Hawaii-born ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro effortlessly plays his breakout hit, a cover of the George Harrison song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” It’s got longing on lock.

Cultural associations with the ukulele are also mostly merry: Visions of beach barbecues, saltwater hair, a barefoot Jack Johnson, places located somewhere over the rainbow, hula hips and backyard kanikapila (Hawaiian-music jam sessions) are readily conjured at first pluck.Ĭhris is struggling, perhaps due to the shock of a non-ukulele-playing journalist throwing down an unenlightened gauntlet - he is a professional musician, after all. He’s been challenged to play a sad song on this notoriously good-natured instrument, on which the notes never fall below middle C - by default, its melodies always end on a high note. Photo by Bud Muth Bud MuthĬhris Kamaka leans back in his chair, strumming an old tenor ukulele, an instrument that his family business, Kamaka Hawaii, has been building for 100 years. Facebook Twitter Email A rope trim of rosewood and maple can be ordered for Kamaka�s deluxe ukulele models.

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