Vince Esquire releases another innovative ‘ukulele album
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Continuing to push the boundaries of the 'ukulele, Vince Esquire's album, "Funkulele," earned him the cover of the fall issue of Ukulele Magazine, with a glowing review about how the Maui musician "has a real opportunity to make history."
"I knew they were going to do an article on the album, but I didn't know I was going to be the cover feature until right before," said Esquire. "The cover was a last-minute notification, so it was pretty cool."
Esquire has ventured into jazz-funk territory with his newly released instrumental collection, "Low G Sessions," joined by a stellar lineup of musicians whose credits include playing with Prince, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor.
The new project evolved from some ideas Esquire had that did not fit his funk album, that he fashioned into a cohesive smooth jazz collection.
"Basically, with 'Funkulele,' as soon as we were done with all the tracking, I was already on to the next project," he explained. "'Low G' is all the ideas that I had that didn't make the 'Funkulele' album. There have been jazz ('ukulele) albums, but I went more in the smooth jazz direction like Dave Koz, like modern smooth jazz."
Primarily an original collection, he included one cool cover, George Benson's classic "Breezin'." "I play that song live whenever I play with Eric Gilliom," he noted. "Everybody really likes it. I don't think it’s ever been done on a 'ukulele release before. I wrote to Mike Ruff and asked if he could produce this track, and I told him, 'You get bonus points if you can recreate the intro, the classical flute thing,' and sure enough, he nailed it."
Notable musicians on the album include saxophonist Mark Hartsuch, who performed with Bobby McFerrin and Arturo Sandoval; and bassist Andrew Gouché, whose credits include Prince and the New Power Generation, Chaka Khan and Quincy Jones. Also on bass is Jimmy Johnson, best known for his work with James Taylor and Allan Holdsworth, while drummer Petar Janjic has performed with Cory Wong and Billy Strings.
"Mark Hartsuch did all my horn arrangements," Esquire said. "He's amazing. I got Jimmy Johnson playing on 'Breezin'' and Andrew Gouché on a track."
The album closes with "Deimo Hill" with Jaco Pastorius' nephew, David Pastorius, on bass. "That's one of the more funkier tracks, just a little riff I came up with, and we built everything around it," Esquire said.
Both "Low G Sessions" and "Funkulele" could qualify him for the 2027 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards in various categories. "The funk album because it has vocals, so I might put it in contemporary or another category," he said. "The 'ukulele album category has to be 75% instrumental."
As for "Low G," "it's not like an 'ukulele album you would expect. If I were able to put my dream band together, this is the kind of project that it would be. I will maybe put it into the jazz category and see what happens."
A member of the Nā Hōkū-winning band Kanekoa, Esquire, along with Kaulana Kanekoa, Travis Rice and Don Lopez, will play the annual holiday show Dec. 26 at ProArts Playhouse. They play from 7 to 9 p.m. every Sunday at Nalu's South Shore Grill.
Having a Ukulele Magazine cover has definitely generated more interest in the Maui band. "It's opening the door for Kanekoa for our workshop tours and seminars stuff," he said. "As soon as we reach out to any 'ukulele group, I send the covers. The first time was with Kaulana. We're pretty much in wherever we want to go."
Esquire's "Low G Sessions" is available on all streaming platforms.