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Artist
Lee Oskar
12+ albums
harmonicajazzblueslee oskardenmark
about
LEE OSKAR (1948.03.24/Copenhagen, Denmark - ) is a harmonica player born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1948, Oskar was six years old when a family friend gave him his first harmonica. "Everyone in my neighborhood was playing one that year," he remembers. "The next year, the fad was the yo-yo, but I had fallen in love with the harmonica, and stuck with it." He grew up listening to Danish radio, enjoying all types of music and cites Ray Charles as the biggest influence from that period. Oskar moved to the United States at the age of 18 with little more than a harmonica in his pocket. Arriving in Los Angeles, CA via a few other cities, Oskar soon met and joined forces with Eric Burdon who had recently disbanded the Animals and was searching for new collaborators. Together, the harp-playing Danish and the British blues-rock singer made the rounds of the L.A. clubs, eventually hooking up with the soon-to-be members of WAR. Burdon agreed to the novel idea of pairing up Oskar's harmonica with Charles Miller's saxophone to form a horn section. This team-up set WAR apart from the start, giving Oskar room to display the full spectrum of his improvisational prowess. Oskar's signature harp solos helped to define the WAR sound from the band's beginning in 1969, adding dashes of color to their R&B/Jazz/Rock and Latin influences. Audiences have marveled at his improvisational wizardry, not to mention his animated stage presence. "My playing has become more aggressive over the years," he sa
