Recipient Information
Location
New York, New York
Year of Award
2021
Grant or Fellowship
Jazz Road Tours Grant
Grant Amount
$15,000
Performances
Tour postponed until 2022.
- Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. Date TBA. La Jolla CA
- Outpost. Date TBA. Albuquerque NM
- Kerr Cultural Center. Date TBA. Scottsdale AZ
- SFJazz, Joe Henderson. Date TBA. San Francisco CA
About the Artist
Oscar Peñas, guitar and compositions, will be accompanied by Sara Caswell, violin, Dan Loomis, upright bass, and Rodrigo Recabarren, drums/percussion. They began recording and touring together in 2014. They sold out a month before their performances at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Side Door, BAMcafé Live at Peter Jay Sharp Building, The Mansion at Strathmore, and City Hall Stage at the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival.
Oscar Peñas uses his unique skills to arrange, produce, and perform his compositions in many of the best venues in the US. His unique blending of two genres that seem antagonistic, jazz and classical, along with the usage of non-traditional instrumentation in either style, outlines the sounds of the history that inspires his work. Traditional popular folk music from different cultures and sounds from his Iberian heritage meld with an American jazz base. Peñas most often performs his work as the leader of different small jazz ensembles. He’s also performed on International European tours. In Spain, he’s played at Jamboree, Jimmy Glass, Sunset, Jazz Cava Terrassa, Casino Granollers. In Paris, at Duc del Lombard. In South America, he’s performed in Colombia at Universidad de Los Andes, and Universidad Javeriana and jazz Club Matik Matik.