Kanekoa’s Vince Esquire has released “Funkulele,” a new album featuring Esquire on the ukulele accompanied by a number of world-class musicians. Courtesy photo

If Prince had loved playing the ukulele, he might have released an album like Vince Esquire’s “Funkulele,” which features nine primarily instrumental tracks of super-grooving funk with possibly the greatest collection of backing musicians ever assembled on a Maui recording.

“I just want to legitimize the instrument more,” said Esquire, who once toured and recorded with Gregg Allman. The ukulele master explained he has been impressed by Jake Shimabukuro, and wants to take what Shimabukuro has done even further.

“He’s done such a great job destigmatizing the instrument as a novelty, and I want to keep that idea going,” said Esquire. “I love funk music. I was born in Oakland, so it’s kind of in my roots.”

Opening with the vocal track “Blame It on the Whiskey,” musicians joining him include the Tower of Power horns and bassist Paul Peterson, who was discovered by Prince and featured in the film “Purple Rain.”

“I co-produced the album with Michael Ruff, and he opened his Rolodex and helped me piece together who he thought would be the best lineup for each song,” said Esquire.

Based on Kauai, Ruff, who has worked with Chaka Khan, Bonnie Raitt and Lionel Richie, helped secure the Tower of Power horns. Esquire called it a miracle.

When the band had a Blue Note gig in Honolulu, Ruff contacted the club and the band.

“I’m like, ‘It’s Tower of Power. It’s probably never going to happen in a million years,'” Esquire said. “Mike calls me, ‘The Tower of Power horns are in for the song. The Blue Note is allowing us to record one track during their sound check.’ They did it in one take.”

Also helping was Ron Panzo, the owner of Nalu’s South Shore Grill.

“How do I pay for this because it’s going to be insanely expensive,” Esquire wondered. “Ron sponsored Tower of Power on the album.”

Other musicians with impressive credits on board for the project include bassists Andrew Gouche, Jimmy Johnson and James Genus (Prince, Chaka Khan, James Taylor, Elton John); drummers Chris Coleman, Gregg Bissonette and Joey Heredia (Prince, Santana, Stevie Wonder), guitarist James Harrah (Madonna, Herbie Hancock); saxophonists Kenni Holmen and Bob Franceschini (Prince, Chaka Khan); trumpeter Dan Falcone (Lady Gaga, Celine Dion); and Grammy-winning arranger Mattias Bylund (Taylor Swift).

“I’ve got a lot of Prince alumni on this project,” said Esquire. “That was my goal. I wanted to get that Minneapolis sound. I wanted the best of the best that you could possibly get — just the cream of the crop anywhere in the world.”

One of the tracks on the album, “Turbulence,” echoes the jazz funk of Herbie Hancock. “What’s the Use” sounds like an Average White Band hit. “Frequent Flyer” resembles an Earth, Wind and Fire or Chicago instrumental. “Cosmic Cowboy” could have been an unreleased Rick James classic, while the closing “Creature” reflects Jeff Beck’s jazz-rock fusion ventures.

The one cover, James Brown’s classic “I Feel Good,” gets the full “Funkulele” transformation into a more upbeat version joined by the Tower of Power’s drummer, the bassist for “Saturday Night Live” and Snarky Puppy’s guitarist.

“There’s an alternate version that James Brown did of ‘I Feel Good’ that’s kind of in that vibe,” said Esquire. “It’s a whole different groove.”

The standout vocal song, “What’s the Use,” features Jonathan Mouton, who has worked with John Legend and Ariana Grande. “That’s my artistic protest song,” inspired by “the state of the world,” he said. “It came out super funky.”

The lead ukulele player with the Hōkū-winning Maui band Kanekoa, Esquire spent around three years compiling the new album.

“I am extremely happy with it,” he said. “Both Mike and myself put a lot of time and effort into it. I really love how it came out. It’s a great representation of where I am on the instrument now and what I really want to do with it. I’m just going to keep trying to push it further.”

“Funkulele” was released Wednesday on all streaming platforms. Esquire will perform a free concert with Eric Gilliom, bassist Jay Molina, drummer Marty Fera and singer Deborah Vial at The Shops at Wailea at 5:30 p.m. Friday.