Oscar Noriega, a native Arizonan of Mexican descent, began playing the saxophone when he was ten years old. His first professional experience was as a performer in a ranchera band with his brothers. Oscar realized that music was his true passion after performing with the Hermanos Jovel group. Oscar studied music at Arizona State University and UCLA for several years. He then moved to Los Angeles in 1990 and Boston in 1990. There he worked as a musician with the Duke Ellington Repertory Orchestra, Gunther Schuller’s Either/Orchestra and the Jazz Composers Alliance. Berklee and New England Conservatory were also home to him, and he participated in recitals and sessions at both. Gradually however, Oscar began to move down the coast, in what he now considers an inevitable drift towards New York and the many opportunities it offers young, driven musicians. Oscar has been a Brooklyn resident since 1992. He is active in New York’s jazz scene. He regularly plays in many clubs, including the Knitting Factory and Tonic. Oscar is a leader of Play Party with Brad Shepik and Cuong Vu. He also leads the Oscar Noriega Quartet. Oscar is a leader of Unit X and Sideshow, a group that reinterprets Charles Ives’ works. Sideshow was named the Village Voice’s best repertory group of 1999. from http://www.omnitone.com
