In 2021, harmonica virtuoso Lee Oskar released the album Never Forget. Its concept was rooted in recalling the horrors of the Holocaust, a tribute to the survivors (including his Jewish mother and aunt, who as teens escaped from a Nazi concentration camp in Poland) and hopes for a future in which something like that could never happen again. The Houston Press spoke with him about it, and the record garnered some of the best reviews of his 50+ year career.
For his new record, She Said Mahalo (available September 15 on his own Dreams We Share label), the mood is much lighter, joyous, and buoyant on the 10 instrumental tracks. And while Oskar’s harmonica is predominant, it also features more than a dozen other instruments, including a bassoon. “Mahalo” is a Hawaiian term used to express gratitude.
“I would be lying if I said I had it all figured out in what I wanted for a [theme] or knew that ahead of time!” Oskar laughs via Zoom from his Washington state home.
“The reality is that as artists, we create in the moment, and we react to what we create. And then we give it a title. That’s it. If we had everything planned out ahead of time, there would be no emotions. I go with my instincts and feelings, and that might be getting a bit philosophical. And I’m not as uptight as I used to be!”
Tracks like “Caribbean Love Song,” “Children of the World,” “Most Favored Nation” and “One-World Fist” certainly have a tropical/jungle vibe. There are also upbeat more rock/dance tunes like “Children of the World” and first single “Funky Rhetoric” along with the driving “Memories” and “Morning Rush.” And Oskar slows things down with more ballads like the title track and “Sweet Lullaby.”
Some of the tunes were written (or at least partially written) as far back as 1986 and evolved across the ensuing decades in either portions or complete works but were just now recorded.
For instance, “Sweet Lullaby” is a reimagining of his previous “Stephanie’s Lullaby,” written for his daughter when she was a child. “She’s a grown woman now, and I’m just reflecting back on that time. It’s bittersweet,” Oskar offers. “You have this infant in your arms and then they grow up and go through all kinds of things as life carries on.”
He also feels that She Said Mahalo has something that a good portion of his previous solo records didn’t. A band with a history together.
“The thing that’s better about this record than what I’ve had in the past is that I put a whole band together as Lee Oskar & Friends and we play gigs. They have a vibe with me onstage. And when I took them in the studio, we just improvised and produced stuff,” he says.
“It’s so much easier to create like that on the things I compose rather than bring someone in with cold feet, even if I know they can play and read. This album has more synergy because I’ve already connected with these people.”
In addition to his regular band, guest musicians include someone that Oskar has a long, long history with, going back to 1969: His former bandmate in WAR, Harold Brown. The pair also share co-writing credits on “Caribbean Love Song” and “Most Favored Nation.”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t leave me alone!” Oskar laughs when asked how the two got together for this record. “He calls me every day, so I had to put him to use!”
Of course, Oskar is best known as a co-founding member the multi-platinum, multi-genre WAR, who in the ‘70s had hits with tunes like “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” “The Cisco Kid,” “All Day Music,” and “Slippin’ into Darkness.” He and sax player Charles Miller (the band’s “horn section”) were responsible for playing and co-creating the memorable hook on their best-known tune, “Low Rider,” which like a lot of their tunes came out of an extended jam.
Of the four surviving members, there are split camps. Keyboardist/singer Lonnie Jordan and his group perform under the legally sanctioned name of WAR, while Oskar, singer/guitarist Howard Scott, drummer Harold Brown, and theirs gig occasionally as The Lowrider Band.
Oskar says he hopes to release some live Lowrider Band material in the future, including the last concert played by singer/bassist B.B. Dickerson, also a WAR/Lowrider Band bandmate. Dickerson died in 2021 after being mostly incapacitated for years, suffering from a series of strokes.
Rhino Records recently reacquired the rights to distribute the band’s catalog, and to date have reissued most of their albums and produced two gorgeous vinyl box sets for Record Store Day. New projects/releases have been teased by the label, but nothing has come out yet. Fans have long clamored for more live music, as thousands of hours of shows were professionally recorded during the group’s heyday.
Since 1983, Oskar has also been producing his own successful line of harmonicas in partnership with Japanese company Tombo. And while they’ve done special editions before, the most recent one is in collaboration (available in several keys) is with front man of the Rolling Stones in the Mick Jagger Harmonica Signature Series.
Lee Oskar is also an accomplished artist, and the CD cover and booklet includes many of his works to illustrate the songs, some long existing and some created or accentuated just for She Said Mahalo.
One of his distinctive flourishes (as seen on the cover) seems to be include thousands of little circles of solid-colored paints of different shades. But it’s no brush he uses to create them. Rather, they’re the product of the end of the eraser on a regular #2 pencil, dipped in paint and applied to the canvas.
“I have a lot of things I’m still inspired to do,” the 75-year-old Oskar sums up. And when asked what he hopes someone who has never heard of him or his music before does after hearing She Said Mahalo, the harmonica man is succinct.
“I want them to play it again!”
For more on Lee Oskar or to pre-order She Said Mahalo, visit LeeOskarMusic.com or DreamsWeShare.com
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
