The Turlock Uke Jamz is bringing Abe Lagrimas, Jr. to town for a one-night ukulele performance on Aug. 21.

Lagrimas is a versatile multi-instrumentalist who is predominantly known as a drummer, though he is highly proficient on the vibraphone and the ukulele and continues to perform throughout the world on all three instruments and in many different musical situations. Raised in Hawaii, Lagrimas attended Berklee College of Music on a scholarship. He started playing the ukulele halfway through his second year and did his first gig just two weeks later.

Lagrimas had a eight-year run as a member of one of South Korea’s top jazz group, Prelude, which formed in 2003 and later signed with Sony records in 2005.

Lagrimas has performed at ukulele and jazz festivals throughout the world and released multiple albums in the United States, Japan, and Korea. He recently just performed at the 2014 Cairns Ukulele Festival in Australia, where he stepped in at the last minute to play drums for Grammy winning musician Daniel Ho. His ukulele repertoire includes jazz, Hawaiian, pop, rock, and original music. 

The Hawaii Academy of Recording Arts has repeatedly nominated Abe in the annual Na Hoku Hanohano Awards for his albums.  His latest album entitled “Solo Ukulele – The King of Pop,” pays tribute to Michael Jackson by showcasing unique solo ukulele arrangements of Jackson’s music. It was recognized by HARA in the 2011 awards as the EP Release of the Year, making it his first Hoku win. He released his first major record label debut entitled “Lovers Uke” on Universal Music Japan in August 2007. In June 2009 his second ukulele album in Japan, “Uke Wired” was released on Pony Canyon Records.

The performance is set for 7 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Carnegie Arts Center. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $20 for Carnegie Arts Center members. A workshop will be held before the concert from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with a cost of $15 per person. For tickets visit http://www.carnegieartsturlock.org.