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Oscar Peñas
BAM performance on Sep. 6, 2012 photo by Zulema Mejias
Background information
Birth name	Oscar Peñas Cambray
Born	(1972-08-13) August 13, 1972 (age 52) Barcelona, Spain
Genres	Jazz, Crossover jazz, Modern jazz, European Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician, Composer
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Fresh Sound New Talent, Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, Musikoz

Website	www.oscarpenas.com

Musical artist

Oscar Peñas Cambray (born August 13, 1972, Barcelona, Spain) is a Catalan born a USA citizen and a New York resident jazz guitarist, composer.

Biography

Oscar Peñas is a Catalan-American guitarist born in Barcelona, Spain, he moved to New York in 2007 after finished at the New England Conservatory in Boston. In his early years, his family traditions were, and still are, to play and sing during their car trips. His grandfather, from his mother's side, played the trumpet professionally in the Orquesta Gran Gala and occasionally with Xavier Cugat's band during his European tours.

Peñas began taking music lessons and playing the guitar at age nine, yet he received his first guitar at five years old on an Epiphany’s Day. Oscar studied classical guitar privately with Javier Olondo. At seventeen, he discovered and got fascinated by the jazz world changing his musical path and signed up at the Taller de Músics in Barcelona. There, his most notable professor and friend was Vicenç Solsona. He also studied with the late Sean Leavitt and Horacio Fumero among others. From this time on, Oscar’s career was clear: He was going to be a jazz musician.

In 1997 he enrolled at Berklee College of Music. Some of his influential professors while there were Luciana Souza, Mick Goodrick and Jon Damian. Peñas graduated cum laude, in 1999 and returned to his home city Barcelona and became a professor at the Taller de Músics from 2000 to 2005. At the same time, he led the Oscar Peñas Group aka Astronautus; recording two albums Astronautus (2003) and The Return of Astronautus (2005) both with the label Fresh Sound New Talent, as well as performing and touring in Spain. In 2005, awarded with a scholarship, he decided to earn his Masters in Jazz Studies at New England Conservatory. There, Peñas had the opportunity of learning from professors such as: Charlie Banacos, Danilo Perez, Frank Carlberg, graduating in 2007.

Afterwards, Peñas moved to New York where he currently lives, performs and teaches at the 92Y School of Music. In November, 2011 Oscar Peñas self-produced and released his third album, first in USA, From Now On, BJURecords with the addition of special guest Gil Goldstein. Music of Departures and Returns (2014) is Oscar's fourth album and his second recording in the USA. A self released work under his own record label Musikoz . The album, a collection of versatile tunes, has the greatest collaborations of three Grammy winners and friends, Gil Goldstein, Paquito D' Rivera and Esperanza Spalding.

Oscar has toured in Spain, France, Cuba and Colombia.

Style

Oscar style changed from play traditional swinging after Cecil Taylor advised him to incorporated music of his cultural heritage, at that moment he used Cecil's critique wisely in his elaborated improvisational savoir faire creativity. Then he was called transnational cool... Peñas creates a soulful style that can best be described as transnational cool by Alana Harper, Many of Peñas’ compositions are guitar driven and could be played as solo pieces. His musical approach develops with every new collaboration he engages. Also, his interest in different music expressions and others styles, not limited to any particular genres nor labels, guide his goal to reach others whose interest and enjoyment is music. Oscar Peñas plays mostly his originals, which demonstrate its own personality, a very difficult attribute to aim these days.

Awards

2014, 2013 and 2012 ASCAP Plus awardee: The ASCAP Plus Awards program provides cash and recognition to writers who create music with a value beyond the scope of performance surveys.

Discography

Astronautus Fresh Sound Records 2003
The Return of Astronautus Fresh Sound Records 2005
From Now On Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records 2011
Music of Departures and Returns Musikoz 2014

References

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