Jody Kamisato was born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1977, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Music has been an integral part of Jody's upbringing.
At just seven years of age, Jody was given his first ukulele lesson by his music teacher in elementary school. At the age of eight, Jody began performing with the world famous Honolulu Boy Choir. During the next five years he had the opportunity to travel all over the United States, record on an album, and sing on several national T.V. shows as well as commercials.
After graduating from Kaiser High School in 1995, his interest in ukulele began to grow. Through the next eight years, Jody has studied under ukulele masters such as Jake Shimabukuro, Troy Fernandez, Peter Moon, and Roy Sakuma.
In 2000, Jody joined "Ukulele Academy" owned by Jake Shimabukuro and started his career as an instructor.
While the academy was supported by the young who admired Jake's innovative style, Jody invented his own style and became one of the most popular instructors.
After graduating from the University of Hawaii with a degree in Music Marketing, Jody began teaching at Ukulele Essence along with his partner Bruce Shimabukuro.
Together along with Gary Akiona, they make up the "Bruce Shimabukuro Band". The "Bruce Shimabukuro Band" continues to share the aloha spirit through their music. They have successful live performances in Hawaii and tour Japan three to four times a year to do live performances and ukulele workshops.
In 2004, the "Bruce Shimabukuro Band" was invited to Japan to perform in the largest ukulele event called the Ukulele Picnic. In 2005, the band was invited to perform as the final act for the Okinawan Festival (one of Hawaii's largest events) on Oahu. Also in 2005, Jody's original song "Ainakoa" was selected for "Aloha Tofu's" official commercial song.
Jody completed his first DVD entitled "Island Style Ukulele" which will be out in retail stores in Fall 2005.