Oscar Reynolds & Karumanta

Saturday Nov 8 8pm

Bolivian folk & fusion, Black Bolivan/Peruvian

• With a music career spanning four decades, Bolivian-born Oscar Reynolds leads the critically-acclaimed San Francisco ensemble Karumanta, described by the East Bay Express as "the current favorite of fans in a field already overrun with excellent musicians, representing the purest traditional sound." Formed in 1991, the ensemble’s repertoire and top-notch performance is an eclectic combination of Bolivian folk, Bolivian fusion, and the new Black Bolivian/ Black Peruvian music project, which unites the Black rhythms of Bolivia and Peru with Andean music traditions of the Quechua and Aymara Indians.
• With past performances throughout South America, Europe, and the United States with various sold-out shows in up to 2,000 seat venues. Their music has been featured in the movie Follow Me Home, NPR’s Morning Edition, and KGO radio’s program The Best Music You’ve Never Heard, among over 850 NPR and PRI stations and syndicated programs across the United States and abroad.
• The ensemble boasts master musicians with rich and diverse accomplishments in their traditional fields. Oscar is an accomplished Bolivian pan flute master and composer recognized for his unparalleled coordination and dexterity in playing the bamboo flutes and guitar simultaneously. Frank Zeccola of the San Francisco Observer says, “Any flute player would marvel at the tight control over each note Reynolds displays while packing a stream of emotions into his complex scale runs, but to see him do that and play the guitar is quite impressive.” Afro-Peruvian drummer Lalo Izquierdo lends just the right punctuations with polyphonic rhythms and dynamic effects on the cajón (box drum) and other indigenous percussive instruments as varied and innovative as dried seeds and a wooden piggy bank. Also joining Karumanta is David Pinto (Peru)with lightning fast finger-picking on bass guitar.
• Oscar Reynolds (Bolivia) antara, zampoñas, quena, quenacho, guitar, compositions, arrangements, musical direction; Lalo Izquierdo (Perú) cajón, cajita, donkey jaw, percussive dance; David Pinto (Perú) , bass guitar
• 8 CD's

Oscar Reynolds & Karumanta