Each year's Rochester International Jazz Fest has its darling; that one artist, that one show, that one moment that has everyone going ga-ga. Norah Jones floored 'em at Max, Mamadou Diabate and his koto put a soundtrack to splendid dreams, and James Brown almost put a permanent part in my scalp during what is easiest the best show I have ever seen.

No contest: last year's darling was Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro, whose two sold-out shows left lines wrapped around the buildings he played. More than 1200 fans were reportedly turned away. He's back this year at a bigger venue, the Eastman Theatre, where the mesmerizing cascade of notes he emits with 10-fingered fury should sound utterly amazing.

This isn't hype. Though he is soft spoken and rather casual in appearance and approach, Shimabukuro's playing is fiery and elegant. We spoke briefly with this year's darling from a tour stop in Haley, Idaho.

CITY: When did you first pick up the ukulele?

JAKE SHIMABUKURO: I started when I was 4 years old. My mom played, so she just taught me some basic chords and traditional Hawaiian tunes, and I just never stopped. I loved all kinds of music growing up and I just tried to play everything I could on my instrument.

Any other instruments?

A little on guitar, piano, drums. I played snare drum in the marching band in high school.

No ukulele in marching band?

Yeah, they weren't open for that yet.

How did you first take the ukulele out of the traditional realm?

Well, I started playing traditional Hawaiian stuff. And then when I got into high school, I made friends in a lot of the different cliques. I had friends in the drama club, where they listened to a lot of musicals and Broadway stuff. I had a buddy in a heavy metal group so I was getting turned onto Metallica. And then there were the rock guys, alternative. I hung out with the band people, so there was a lot of classical. Just a little bit of everything, and that's what really opened up my eyes and ears to different styles of music.

Do you find yourself having to overcome the instrument being perceived as a novelty, a curiosity?

I embrace that part of the ukulele. I love that it's such a simple, friendly instrument, like the underdog of all instruments. It's really the only instrument that if you're a child, all the way up to where you're a grandmother or a grandfather, you're not afraid to pick it up for the first time. It's got that kind of simplicity about it. I love the fact that people come to the shows with such low expectations.

I love the fact that they come to shows thinking they're going to hear simple, maybe even comical, tunes or something, and then I'll come out and do a flamenco tune or a classical piece or a jazz-fusion piece, and they'll be like, "Woah, I totally wasn't expecting that." That's something that I really enjoy; catching people off guard or doing something on the instrument they would not ever even imagine...and then at the end of the show maybe doing a traditional Hawaiian song and then [getting], "OK, that's what I expected."

You're becoming the go-to ukulele sideman.

Last year was an exciting year because I recorded with Yo-Yo Ma on his latest album. I also did a recording with Cyndi Lauper. And then I've been touring with Jimmy Buffett, I've played with Bela Fleck. And you look at those these artists that have asked me to collaborate with them, and it's pretty amazing. It's the ukulele, after all. It's just really neat to see there are no boundaries with this instrument. You can really do anything you want with it. I pinch myself every morning and say, "Wow, is this happening?"

How do you choose songs? How do they make the cut?

I think on some level you can play virtually any tune on the instrument. I mean, you only have four strings and a two-octave range. For example, if you're covering Bach, like one of his two-part inventions, obviously you have to pick and choose and you have to commit to certain melodic lines and there are things you have to omit.

How about going electric?

On my earlier albums I was really into that. On the "Sunday Morning" CD I wrote a tune on there that was kind of like a ukulele heavy metal tune. I hooked my ukulele up to distortion and a big Marshall amp and did some tapping and all these power chords. But then people would listen and think it was electric guitar. That's when it occurred to me, I didn't want people thinking it was guitar. I wanted them to know it was the ukulele.

You're blowing up. How's it feel?

Oh man, I'm having the time of my life, I really am. I've been meeting these amazing musicians and I've been trying to be like a sponge, you know? Absorb as much knowledge as I can. Every day presents new opportunities. It's just exciting. It's hard to make sense of the whole thing. I'm just enjoying it.

Jake Shimabukuro

w/Carolyn Wonderland

Eastman Theatre

8 p.m. | $19-$39