"Oscar's technical agility, advanced harmonic and melodic knowledge, and grounding in funk and R&B--as well as his dedication to Latin traditions--give him the ultimate flexibility when it comes time to lay down a groove." - Bass Player MagazineHailing from Peru, Oscar studied at the Conservatory of Music in Lima while working extensively as a first-call session musician and live performer for many international artists and local bands. He moved to the U.S. in 1979, where he ...
"Oscar's technical agility, advanced harmonic and melodic knowledge, and grounding in funk and R&B--as well as his dedication to Latin traditions--give him the ultimate flexibility when it comes time to lay down a groove." - Bass Player Magazine
Hailing from Peru, Oscar studied at the Conservatory of Music in Lima while working extensively as a first-call session musician and live performer for many international artists and local bands. He moved to the U.S. in 1979, where he continued his studies with pianist/educator Mike Marra, and Jazz great Jerry Bergonzi. Since then, Oscar has become one of the most in-demand performers the on the East Coast. His mastery of different music styles from Jazz and Fusion to Latin, Brazilian, and South American music, has allowed him to travel the world performing with a virtual who's who in the Latin and Jazz worlds respectively. Throughout his illustrious career, Oscar has accrued four Grammy Awards with a total of six nominations.
Oscar has also been a Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston since 1988. He's been largely responsible for the school's development of Latin education, instituting several courses on Latin and world bass styles. Oscar has represented Berklee at the International Association of Jazz Educators conferences and has held clinics in music communites all over the world, including Peru, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Spain. Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Germany Switzerland, Canada, Uruguay. He also teaches Latin Jazz Ensembles and Jazz Improvisation in the Latin Jazz Idiom at the New England Conservatory of Music. During his tenure at Berklee, Oscar has produced concerts for numerous guest artists including Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Eva Ayllon, Larry Harlow, Jorge Drexler, Ivan Lins, Issac Delgado, Rosa Passos, and Luis Enrique, among many others.
Oscar is the co-author of the “Latin Bass Book” published by Sher Music, a complete work on how to play bass lines in the Afro Cuban, Brazilian, Caribbean, and South American music styles. He has also written the Afro Cuban Slap Book published by Berklee Press/Hal Leonard. He is currently working on a a new book for Bass, Drums and Piano “New Trends in Latin Jazz” an intensive study of Latin American rhythms from Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Uruguay and their applications in Latin Jazz.
Oscar is a contributing writer for the Magazine “Musico Pro” for the monthly articles “Latin Bass Masters,” and “Bass Concepts.”
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