About Me

 Originally from Lima, Peru, Osmar is a versatile and professional bassist, composer, arranger and teacher currently based in Los Angeles.  He learned bass and drums at an early age under the direction of bassist Joscha Oetz.  Osmar earned his Bachelor of Music in Performance at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA with a scholarship and later obtained a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA.

Okuma’s work can be described as very versatile ranging from Jazz to modern styles of music such as Hip-hop and electronic music. Aside from Jazz, some of Osmar’s is also heavily influenced by Peruvian music which brings a fresh take on latin styles and rhythms.

Osmar has performed with artists such as Alex Acuña, Donald Harrison Jr, Steve Lehman, Walter Smith III, Tia Fuller, Phil Wilson, Javier Limon, Ramon Stagnaro, Daniel Amat, Calixto Oviedo, Lily Hernandez, La Shica, Lincoln Goines, Darren Barrett, Justo Almario and more. Some important venues and events Osmar has performed in include the Blue Note NYC, Dizzy’s Club at the Lincoln Center, The Side Door, Shapeshifter Lab, Catalina Bar & Grill, Vibrato Grill Jazz, SXSW, NAMM show, Jazz Education Network Conference, Capitol Studios and more.

Currently Osmar is performing out of Los Angeles as well as recording and producing for his own music and for other projects. Additionally Osmar also has a solo project as a producer and composer under the artist name Amku.

Most recently Osmar has been an integral part of the Afro Peruvian Jazz Orchestra which got nominated to two categories in the Latin Grammy´s and one category in the American Grammy Awards.

- Latin Grammy Awards 2020

Best Arrangement: La Flor De La Canela (Tradiciones) by Lorenzo Ferrero - WINNER
Best Latin Jazz Album: (Tradiciones)

- Grammy Awards 2021

Best Latin Jazz Album: (Tradiciones)

Aside from performance and recording Osmar is also an educator and teaches privately out of Los Angeles.