Oscar Peñas

For the judoka, see Óscar Peñas.

Oscar Peñas Cambray Catalan - North American (born August 13, 1972) is a jazz bandleader and composer-guitarist born in Barcelona, Spain. He has been living in New York since 2007.^[1]

Oscar Peñas (Musician)
BAM performance on September 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, classical, crossover, minimalist
Occupation(s)	guitarist, composer, producer
Instrument(s)	electric and nylon guitar
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Fresh Sound, Brooklyn Jazz Underground, Musikoz
Website	Official website

Biography

Oscar Peñas is a composer and guitarist from Barcelona, Spain. He is known for leading small ensembles, composing, and organic fingerpicking. Peñas began his musical journey at eight, receiving training in classical guitar. He later attended the Taller de Músics and swapped to jazz while studying law at seventeen. During a visit to the USA 1997, he dropped out of law school in Barcelona and enrolled in a Professional Music program at Berklee College of Music. After graduating in 1999, he returned to his native Barcelona, Spain, where he led the Oscar Peñas Group (a.k.a. Astronautus). He recorded Astronautus (2003)^[2] and The Return of Astronautus (2005) with this group, both under the same label, Fresh Sound New Talent, and toured in Europe. In 2005, Peñas was awarded a scholarship to pursue a Master's degree in Music, Jazz Studies Performance at New England Conservatory. In 2007, he completed his musical education in Boston and moved to New York City. Oscar Peñas is an independent artist known for his innovative and organic style, no-flashing finger-picking. Peñas produces and arranges his music work and releases his music through his record label, Musikoz.^[3][4][5] He has received grants from Mid Atlantic USAI [2021], South Arts Jazz Road [2022], and New York State Council on the Arts [2024], which speak to his exceptional talent and dedication to his craft. In 2018, he debuted his innovative jazz-classical suite with an eight-piece ensemble at the BAM Next Wave Festival.^[6] Oscar's suite "Almadraba" receive a successful concert review for his performance at Aaron Davis Hall, City College Center for the Arts.^[7]

Discography

• Chicken or Pasta [Musikoz, 2023] features, Mike Stern Greg Leisz
• Almadraba [Musikoz, 2022] features, Ron Carter
• Music of Departures and Returns [Musikoz, 2014] features, Esperanza Spalding, Paquito D'Rivera, Gil Goldstein
• From Now On [Brooklyn Jazz Underground, 2011] features, Gil Goldstein
• The Return of Astronautus [Fresh Sound New Talent, 2005]
• Astronautus [Fresh Sound New Talent, 2003]

References

1. Bilawsky, Dan (21 July 2011). "Oscar Penas: From Now On". All About Jazz. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
2. All About Jazz (1 March 2004). "Astronautus". All About Jazz. Retrieved 1 March 2004.
3. Pena, Tomas (9 February 2009). "From Barcelona To Brooklyn". All About Jazz. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
4. Stevens, Joann (13 January 2013). "A Music Man on a Mission". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
5. Bilawski, Dan (3 May 2014). "Music of Departure and Returns". All About Jazz. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
6. Levy Archive, BAM (4 October 2018). ""Almadraba"". BAM Archive. BAM. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
7. Lutz, Phillip (19 February 2019). "With 'Almadraba' Oscar Peñas is Poet, Composer and Friend to Fisherman". DownBeat. Retrieved 19 February 2019.