Artist Detail

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Oscar Reynolds

Composer - Musician

About the artist: A leading advocate and ambassador of his native country’s music, this multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer,
flute-maker, and composer originally from La Paz, Bolivia has a unique musical style that is distinctly Bolivian combined with Afro-Andean and Flamenco influences. Rhythms on guitar and percussion and Reynolds’ flute-blowing style give his music its Bolivian character despite the similarity of instruments shared by the neighboring countries of Perú and Ecuador.

Reynolds is primarily a master flutist of Andean bamboo flutes, such as the sikus (panflute), antara, quena, quenacho, rondador, and toyos. He also plays the guitar, Andean string instruments charango and ronroco, bass, keyboard, and percussion. As a soloist and with the Oscar Reynolds Trio, he plays the flutes and guitar simultaneously, seamlessly combining South American and Spanish guitar into the Bolivian music tradition, taking the ancient traditional Inca art form to a new level, while preserving the same spirit of the Andes.

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."

Oscar first picked up a guitar at the age of 12. With no formal instruction, he learned to play the guitar by watching other guitarists. In the same way, he started playing the Andean flutes, charango, and percussion, and in his teens became the keyboardist in a Bolivian rock band that toured nationally. His musicianship garnered invitations to join several prestigious Andean bands with which he toured the world. He attended the prestigious Bolivian music school Instituto de Jaime Laredo, and later continued studies in law, obtaining a law degree in 1987 from the Universidad Mayor de San Simon in Bolivia. The strong calling and his love for music moved him back to a music career that in 1991, he formed the band Karumanta Jamuyku (Quechua for “We have come from far away”), 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.”

The band built a solid following and a mailing list of over 70,000 people from around the world while touring the Western United States, and was featured on the award-winning weekly television series Sidewalks Entertainment, which headlines both national and regional acts.

Oscar Reynolds has produced and distributed six CDs to date under the independent label Karumanta Music, which has preserved traditional Andean music and featured instrumental Bolivian music. His latest CD "Río de Luz (River of Light)" is his first all-original album that showcases his talent as a composer, performer, and recording engineer and celebrates the versatility
of the Andean panflute as it combines with South American and Flamenco guitar and African-inspired Bolivian and Peruvian percussion. The result is “a light, tranquilizing feel with a touch of sadness and longing in every note.” –San Francisco Observer

For nearly four decades, Reynolds has captivated audiences around the world in cities such as São Paulo, Río de Janeiro, Caracas, Mérida, Paris, London, Sevilla, Madrid, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Santa Fe, and Colorado Springs, and has shared the stage with celebrated Peruvian singer Cecilia Barraza and Perú Negro’s Lalo Izquierdo, among others. His music was also featured in the movie Follow Me Home at the 1996 San Francisco International Film Festival. He has given master classes and flute workshops at the University of San Francisco, La Peña Cultural Center, and Mission Cultural Center, and was an invited artist for San Francisco’s Music in the Schools Today and the Young Imaginations Music Program. Currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Reynolds performs in concert halls and festivals throughout the United States.