Music Review: Harmonica guru Lee Oskar’s all sunshine on funky instrumental album ‘She Said Mahalo’

On the instrumental album “She Said Mahalo,” Lee Oskar plays funk, reggae, a lullaby and more, all while using less than a dozen harmonicas. “Morning Rush” pairs a caffeinated rhythm with two classic Japanese instruments, shakuhachi and shamisen, courtesy of Oskar’s collaborations with “Sancho” Youichrou Suzuki and Mayo Higa respectively. On “Funky Rhetoric,” the funk is more than rhetorical, and the tune’s put-your-hands-together beat sends Oskar’s high-C harp soaring. In the physical edition of “She Said Mahalo,” liner notes include a narrative regarding each tune and a list of harmonicas played — along with paintings by Oskar that are as appealing as one of his solos — making for an enhanced listening experience.