Oscar D'León

Venezuela-born Oscar D'León blends improvisational skill with a richly layered vocal timbre. A leading artist in his native land, he has steadily built a global audience. The pleasure of performing has remained a steady force across his entire career. During a 1996 conversation with the Chicago Tribune, D'León remarked, "My message is not about ecology or politics, but it's simply that people have a good time and remember me as someone who loves them."

Raised in Caracas’s Etamin neighborhood, he drew early inspiration from Cuban figures such as Beny Moré and la Sonora Mantacera as well as New York-based Latin musicians including Eddie Palmieri and Willie Colón. He acquired his bass technique without formal instruction, learning by ear while playing along with records. “I am not a maestro like they say,” he noted. “I try to make my instrument sound coherent.”

While establishing himself as a vocalist, D’León held steady daytime jobs as a taxi driver and factory worker. In 1973 he assembled the group la Dimensión Latina and soon scored his first hit with “Pensando en Ti.” Three years afterward he launched a second ensemble, la Salsa Mayor. Affectionately nicknamed “El Leon de la Salsa” (The Lion of Salsa), he has regularly appeared with sizable ensembles.

In addition to performances and recordings with a 19-piece band that incorporates five saxophones, four trombones, and four trumpets, he toured with a 15-piece unit in 1996. After issuing several albums in the late ’90s, D’León resurfaced in the new millennium with Doble Play.