Oscar Hernández (musician)

Oscar Hernández (born March 22, 1954 in the Bronx ) is an American pianist, band leader, producer and arranger of salsa and Latin jazz .

Live and act

Hernández's family immigrated to the Bronx from Puerto Rico in the 1940s . He grew up in a ghetto under poor conditions. In his youth he was influenced by Tito Puente , Tito Rodríguez and Willie Colón as well as by Ray Barretto , Eddie Palmieri and Richie Ray . He first learned the trumpet and then the piano, which he taught himself largely on his own. He made his recording debut with Joey Pastrana and La Conquistadora . In 1972 he played with Ismael Miranda and then with Ray Barretto, on whose Rican / Struction he can be heard. During this time he also received impulses from bebop ( Charlie Parker , Dizzy Gillespie ).

In the early 1980s began a collaboration with Rubén Blades , with whose Seis Del Solar he played. He became musical director of this band, in which he also played the piano and with whom he recorded a lot (as a co-leader on Decision and Alternate Roots ). He also received a bachelor's degree in music from the City University of New York .

He also played with Tito Puente, Celia Cruz , Julio Iglesias , Willie Colón, Daniel Ponce , Rafael Dejesus , Eddie Torres , Earl Klugh , Dave Valentin , Kirsty MacColl , Pete Rodriguez , Juan Luis Guerra , Oscar D'León and others. For Paul Simon he arranged for his Broadway musical The Capeman . He also works a lot as a studio musician (e.g. in Sex and the City ).

Finally, in 2001, he founded his own Spanish Harlem Orchestra (SHO). It received a Grammy nomination for Best Salsa Album in 2002 for its debut album Un Gran Dia En El Barrio and the 2003 Latin Billboard Award for Salsa Album of the Year and Best Newcomer Group. In 2005 the ensemble won a Grammy for best salsa album with Across 110th Street . The band's other albums were United We Swing (2007, also Grammy nominated) and Viva La Tradicion (2010).

Hernández also directed an AllStar salsa orchestra in Los Angeles and performs with his Latin Jazz Quintet. He arranged and directed orchestras for a number of Latin music stars.

Discographic notes

• Oscar Hernández & Alma Libre: Love the Moment (Origin, 2019)

Web links

• Homepage