TRIAD+ celebrates the vibrant spirit of Brazilian jazz with an all-star quartet of internationally acclaimed musicians: drummer Mark Walker, bassist Oscar Stagnaro, pianist Maxim Lubarsky, and saxophonist Edmar Colón. Originally formed as a trio by multi-GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winners Walker, Stagnaro, and Lubarsky, the group expanded when Puerto Rican saxophonist Colón joined for a special performance at Boston’s GBH. Their electrifying program pays tribute to the legendary Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal, whose genre-defying music blends Brazilian folk traditions, jazz, and fearless experimentation. The quartet’s recent release, “Hermetic: A Tribute to Hermeto Pascoal Live at GBH”, captures the adventurous spirit of this project.

Hermeto Pascoal (1936-2025) was a prolific composer with hundreds of compositions under his belt. Nicknamed “the sorcerer,” he resembled a wizard from a storybook, both in his style and his ability to create magical sounds from unusual places. He treated everything as sound and all sound as music. Hermeto was known for his playful avant-garde arrangements that blended regional Brazilian folk music, jazz, psychedelia and pure whimsy. Miles Davis called him one of the most important musicians in the world after the two had collaborated.

With the band's deep roots in Latin jazz and decades of performance experience, TRIAD+ brings Pascoal’s imaginative music to life through dynamic improvisation, rhythmic fire, and inspired interplay, delivering a thrilling evening of Brazilian-influenced jazz.

This event is cosponsored by Jimmy's Jazz and Blues Club and the Seacoast Jazz Society, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in New Hampshire dedicated to fostering a love of jazz in the community, supporting local musicians, and providing scholarships for young artists. https://www.seacoastjazz.org.

Two videos of TRIAD+ performing live at GBH:
“Irmãos Latinos” by Hermeto Pascoal, arranged by TRIAD+:
https://youtu.be/G4AmKPRrMew?si=2MScHoqbdojEy5Rf

“Montreux” by Hermeto Pascoal, arranged by TRIAD+:
https://youtu.be/W69vTlYLsBo?si=dCYRIJavIBUsMXqA

About the Musicians

Mark Walker, drums and percussion
Mark Walker was nominated for a Grammy Award as a composer at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, and has earned two Grammy Awards, four Latin Grammy awards, and nine Grammy nominations as a drummer for his work with Paquito D’Rivera and OREGON, a band that has inspired audiences in renowned concert halls around the world.
Over the past 40 years, Mark has enjoyed long stints with Paquito D’Rivera, OREGON, Michel Camilo, Lyle Mays, the Caribbean Jazz Project, César Camargo Mariano, Andy Narell, Arturo Sandoval and the German radio big bands (NDR, WDR and HR).
Mark also performs with many outstanding jazz artists, including on Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club stage with saxophonist Grace Kelly.
In addition to recording, performing, and composing, Mark is on the faculty at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Berklee Online, and the New England Conservatory. He is also author of “World Jazz Drumming” (Berklee Press/Hal Leonard). For more information about Mark, visit his website at www.markwalkermusic.com

Oscar Stagnaro, electric bass
Four-time Grammy-winning bassist, Oscar Stagnaro, is considered one of the top Latin bass players in the world. Oscar hails from Peru where he studied at the Conservatory of Music in Lima while working extensively as a first-call session musician and live performer for many international artists and local bands. He moved to the U.S. in 1979, where he continued his studies with pianist/educator Mike Marra, and jazz great Jerry Bergonzi.
Since then, Oscar has become one of the most in-demand performers on the East Coast. Since 1992 he has been bassist with Paquito D'Rivera. His mastery of different music styles from Jazz and Fusion to Latin, Brazilian, and South American music, has allowed him to travel the world performing and/or recording with a virtual who's who in the Latin and Jazz worlds respectively.
Throughout his illustrious career, Oscar has accrued four Grammy Awards with a total of six nominations.
In addition to performing, education has been a major part of his career. Since 1988 Oscar has been a professor at Berklee College of Music, largely responsible developing its Latin music education. In addition, he teaches Latin Jazz at the New England Conservatory of Music. He is co-author of the “Latin Bass Book” (Sher Music) on how to play bass lines in the Afro Cuban, Brazilian, Caribbean, and South American music styles. He wrote the “Afro Cuban Slap Book” (Berklee Press/Hal Leonard), and he is working on a new book “New Trends in Latin Jazz” for bass, drums, and piano.
Bass Player Magazine wrote, "Oscar's technical agility, advanced harmonic and melodic knowledge, and grounding in funk and R&B--as well as his dedication to Latin traditions--give him the ultimate flexibility when it comes time to lay down a groove."

Maxim Lubarsky, piano
A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Maxim Lubarsky started his career as a classical pianist. When he was 7 years old, he began his musical education at the famous Stolyarsky School of Music, where his father, a member of the piano faculty and a renowned pianist, was his teacher and mentor. Later Maxim received a master’s degree from the Odessa State Conservatory, where professor Evilina Kovalenko was his piano instructor. During his last years in school, Lubarsky acquired a love for jazz music and founded his first group, "Art Session," with whom he toured, played numerous venues in the Ukraine, and won first place in several competitions. While playing and touring with Art Session, he continued his classical career, playing solo recitals and performing with the Odessa State Symphony Orchestra. During his years at the conservatory, he was a highly recognized pianist and toured extensively in Israel, France, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Greece, and the U.S.
After graduating from the conservatory, Lubarsky decided to pursue jazz education, which brought him to Berklee College of Music, where he studied with such renowned musicians as Joanne Brackeen, Danilo Pérez, Hal Crook, and Joe Lovano, to name a few. At Berklee, he was recipient of BEST scholarship and the Berklee Technics Piano Award in 2002. 
Maxim has been involved in numerous projects and recordings with performers such as Terry Lynn Carrington, Dave Samuels, Greg Osby, E.J Strickland, Gabrielle Goodman, Dave Liebman and Tiger Okioshi. He co-leads Macayú Jazz Chamber Trio and leads Maxim Lubarsky Quartet. He has also been performing, recording and touring with Gabrielle Goodman as pianist and music director.
He has appeared at number of festivals including St. Petersburg Music Fest (Russia), Spoleto Festival (SC), Beantown Festival (MA), Diacetum Festival (Italy), “Usadba Jazz” Festival (Russia), ArtNaples Festival (FL), “Krivoy Rog” Festival (Ukraine), Cambridge Jazz Festival (MA), Salem Jazz and Soul Festival (MA), Bethel Art Festival (PA). He has been a regular at the Spoleto festival in Charleston, S. Carolina where in the summer of 2012 he performed Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Festival Symphony Orchestra.
Maxim has also appeared on many recordings as a leader and sideman including: “I’ll Be Around,” “The Macayù Trio,” Sandra Aran/Maxim Lubarsky - “Intimately,” Rosalita Agrest/Maxim Lubarsky - Musical Journey, C’est Si Bon - Live at The BPC, to name a few.
Maxim continues his active performing career in Boston and New York, as well as touring internationally. He has been invited numerous times for masterclasses in China, South Africa, and Russia. He is also an Associate Professor in the Piano Department at Berklee College of Music.

Edmar Colón, saxophones
Edmar Colón is an award-winning saxophonist, pianist, and composer from Coamo, Puerto Rico, currently living in Boston where he studied and now teaches at Berklee College of Music. Edmar has toured and played with and/or written for many outstanding musicians here and abroad. Among them Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Danilo Pérez, Wayne Shorter, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, Danny Rivera, Ledisi, and others from a variety of musical genres. Recently he performed at the Kennedy Center for the Arts in the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival and the Abbey Lincoln tribute tour with Grammy Award recipients Terri Lyne Carrington, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. He has also performed at numerous jazz festivals including Puerto Rico, Toronto, Detroit, Panama, Montreal, and others. In 2016, he was awarded the Latino 30 under 30 Award New England from the newspaper El Mundo. He was also awarded first prize at the Keep an Eye International Jazz Awards in Amsterdam as a part of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. In 2017, he was honored in the annual Patron Saint festivities of his hometown of Coamo.