Oscar Reynolds - Karumanta Jamuyku Reviews

River of Light CD Reviews

"[An] entrancing body of music blending Andean and African influences. With haunting panpipes, intricate rhythmic patterns and dramatic chords, the music of Karumanta merges ancient styles and instruments to create a startingly fresh sound."
- San Jose Mercury News

"Multi-instrumentalist and composer Oscar Reynolds' music is a bridge between many worlds with a common culture. He blends the exciting musical world of Bolivia and Peru with the traditions of Spanish music. On his latest release River of Light he captures the ethnic essences of every part of the world producing a spirited instrumental anthology. His flutes, guitars and many other ethnic instruments combine to make an album of contemporary and World music with unifying Latin overtones. His compositions are exciting and full of high spirits."
- RJ Lannan, New Age Reporter

"...destacado vientista boliviano. En todas sus melódicas piezas, Reynolds da cuenta de la riqueza cultural de la música de su país." leer mas/read more
["Outstanding Bolivian flutist. In all his melodic pieces, Reynolds reveals the cultural wealth of his country's music."]
- Periódico Opiníon, Bolivia

"Oscar Reynolds...created a tempest fingering his way around the length of a guitar and breathing his soul into a pan flute."
- The Weekly Calistogan

"Oscar Reynolds is a renaissance man of South American music."
- Metro Silicon Valley

”Reynolds is fearlessly innovative, crossing cultural borders while remaining strongly rooted in tradition. His music reflects the continuous, dynamic, and ever-changing tradition in Bolivian music from the Spanish conquest of the Americas to the present. Joining Bolivian, Afro-Peruvian, and Spanish cultures through music, Reynolds brings Bolivia, Peru, and Spain together, not as the conquered and conquistador, nor as separate countries, but as one Hispanic culture rich in art and creativity.”
- Sentinel, Nov. 2005

"The blending of traditions and cultures as the music crossed borders, migrated and evolved over the course of history, over empires falling and rising and countries gaining and losing dominance and power; this is the experience Oscar Reynolds brings to his music.”
- San Francisco Observer

"Karumanta is a compelling mix of acoustic sound and wind instrumentation, attracting a wide range of admiration in traditional and New Age circles."
- Metro Silicon Valley

"Oscar Reynolds es un multifacético músico boliviano que viene difundiendo la cultura del país por el mundo."
["Oscar Reynolds is a multi-faceted Bolivian musician advocating the culture of his country throughout the world."]
- El Diario, Bolivia

“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.”
- San Francisco Observer

"...prestigiosos músicos"
["...prestigious musicians"]
- El Diario, Bolivia

“Thus, in Oscar’s music you have diverse cultural traditions joining together based on time period, means, and circumstance. History, tradition, and geography are just as important as scales and beats, sharps and flats."
- San Francisco Observer

“Reynolds is an expert flutist.”
- Marcella Cirignola, Amazing Sounds

”More than just a talented musician. The music Oscar Reynolds creates is a lot like a stretch of water that flows…closer listening reveals shimmering waves of sound that ripple with complexity and deep currents that flow steadily through the human heart.”
- Drake Narada, Black Diamond Living Magazine

“Bolivia’s Oscar Reynolds is a master of the Andean panflute. His music has genuine spark and snap, giving the layered intricacy of these instrumental pieces enough variation while remaining true to the essentials.”
- Tom Orr, Global music writer

"All the musicians…represent the purest traditional sound."
- Chiori Santiago, Artsbeat, East Bay Express

"In a field already overrun with excellent musicians, the Bolivian band Karumanta is the current favorite of fans of traditional Andean music."
- Larry Kelp, East Bay Express

"Reynolds brings a wide range of tone, feeling, and musicality from the panpipes." January 2005
- Chris Nickson, Global Village