Ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner thinking big ahead of Hong Kong gig
26-year-old who’s following in footsteps of another Hawaiian player, Jake Shimabukuro, wants the small stringed instrument to be taken seriously and to inspire more to take it up. PLUS Where in Hong Kong to learn the ukulele
Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso Taimane Gardner will make her Hong Kong debut in early November at a time when the four-stringed instrument is enjoying renewed enthusiasm and new-found respect.
Event consultant Yvonne Siet-Wong says the evening, which is part of the Jazz World Live Series, is intended to be a celebration of Hawaiian culture and the “Aloha spirit” in general. However, it’s a safe bet that many in the audience will be there to watch Gardner’s flying fingers and trying to figure out how she’s able to take on tunes ranging from traditional island songs to flamenco, Bach and even Led Zeppelin.
Perhaps the most famous of these was Shimabukuro’s revelatory demonstration of the instrument’s often underestimated scope on George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps, performed impromptu in New York’s Central Park in a video which went viral.
Shimabukuro and his brother Bruce were among Gardner’s teachers. Aged 26, she has already been playing for 21 years.
“The ukulele is smaller than a guitar and so it’s easier to take to the beach. It has only four strings, which makes playing easier, and it’s very special here in Hawaii,” she says.