Jake Shimabukuro
Hitchhike Records/Sony Music Japan

Five stars

The six songs on this EP were chosen by Shimabukuro because they inspired his musical ambitions. The Hawaiian-born ukulele virtuoso’s desire to pay homage to these classic songs, including Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California,” The Beatles’ “In My Life” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” hits the mark with the sincere and unique versions found on this disc.

Sounds like: Classic rock ’n’ roll and pop songs pared down to acoustic gems.