MARIELLA'S DREAM is Oscar's new cd, showcasing rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela in a Latin Jazz context.

It features Ramon Stagnaro, Paquito D'Rivera, Alex Acuna, Dave Samuels, Ed Simon, Oscar Feldman, and Richie Zellon.

Click the audio buttons below to hear samples from each track.

FROM THE TRADITIONAL RHYTHMS OF PERU and Brazil to the more audible sound of the Caribbean, the fusion of traditional Peruvian rhythms with contemporary sounds and arrangements in "Mariella's Dream" give a new point of view to Latin jazz. It's a passport to South America.

Peruvian Latin jazz bassist Oscar Stagnaro, winner of a Grammy with Paquito D'Rivera's Quintet in 2001, presents his first CD, showing the world his much-expected side as a lead man.

Stagnaro revisits Afro-Peruvian music, creating a breed of Latin jazz that hasn't been heard much before. The Berklee College of Music professor demonstrates music can be intense without rambling loud percussion or overbearing bass lines.

Simply put, the record is a non-stop groove machine, with subtle musical colors that are cool and heart felt.

The compositions are primarily originals, written and arranged by Stagnaro and Peruvian guitarist and composer Richie Zellon. The arrangements were all by Stagnaro and Zellon.

"Mariella's Dream," the tune that gives the CD its title, was co-written by Stagnaro and keyboardist/producer Alain Mallet. A serene atmosphere in the beginning characterizes this tune with an odd meter hot montuno section towards the end.

The CD includes two tunes written by Stevie Wonder which were flawlessly arranged by Stagnaro. "Too High" reminds me of the then-innovative horn-less sound of Seis del Solar with Ruben Blades. There is also a cha cha cha version of "You've Got It Bad Girl" featuring Ed Simon on piano and Dave Samuels on vibes, who brought a sound that, except for Caribbean Jazz Project, hasn't been on the Latin Jazz spotlight in a while.

"Rabbi Vallenatowitz," a tune rather comic in title but strong in musicality and wit, gives the record a complete new sound to Vallenato and the term Latin Jazz. This tune is a show of a masterful solo by Paquito D'Rivera on the clarinet, which adds the Klezmer element implied by the title.

In an interesting arrangement of Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin," we hear a good example of why Stagnaro is recognized as one of the most versatile bass players in music: his ability to make his bass sound as a melodic instrument more than a groove setter. The last tune, "Paulo's Mood," features Stagnaro's son Paulo Stagnaro on Peruvian cajón, a type of drum made in its entirety by wood.

Although the instrumentation carries very little presence of horns, the power of this production cuts through your ears. One can only make faces of excitement as Stagnaro's crystal-clear solos develop and enhance the accompanying music. The sound of the CD is well balanced. I would only suggest having the strings on "Le Tombeau" a little louder to blend with the percussion.

Regarded by Paquito D’Rivera as “an extraordinarily solid and competent bassist,” Oscar Stagnaro presents his impeccable musical credentials in his first solo outing, coproduced about three years ago by the aforesaid Berklee professor and his guitar-playing homeboy from Lima--the one and only Richie Zellon. Backed by a couple of compatible blood relatives--guitarist Ramon Stagnaro and percussionist Paulo Stagnaro--and other distinguished Latin Jazz practitioners (D’Rivera, Zellon, Ed Simon, Alex Acuña, Dave Samuels), Professor Stagnaro offers a refreshing alternative, for the most part, to the usual quintet format employed in the abovementioned hybrid genre, as applied to a repertoire of standards and originals rooted on a wide rhythmic range of Cuban, Peruvian, Brazilian, Colombian and Venezuelan elements. One of the best tracks, Zellon’s Rabbi Vallenatowitz, is a jazzified vallenato propelled by D’Rivera’s swinging clarinet.