Hello,
Today's artist is a prolific, much lauded performer known for his genre-bending recordings fusing Latin jazz, African traditions, avant-garde improvisation, classical music, and more. Born on April 10, 1965 in Camaguey, Cuba, he began studying music at age five while attending the Escuela Provincial de Musica in Camaguey. This led to his intense study of drums and percussion at two other schools during the late '70s and early '80s: Cuba's Escuela Nacional de Musica and Instituto Superior de Arte. He has played with a number of world musicians all around the globe, and often collaborates with those outside the jazz and Afro-Cuban traditions. Sosa mixes jazz influences alongside Latin rhythms, North African percussions and spoken word/rap lyrics. He also references classical music. Political and spiritual, he describes his music as an expression of humanism and Santería. On various projects his sounds have ranged from pleasant and melodic, big Latin band, piano improvisation, world music, to free jazz and avant-garde. .......N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Composer-pianist-bandleader Omar Sosa was born in 1965 in Camagüey, Cuba’s largest inland city. At age eight, Omar began studying percussion and marimba at the music conservatory in Camagüey; in Havana, as a teenager, he took up piano at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Música, and completed his formal education at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. Among his influences, Omar cites traditional Afro-Cuban music, European classical composers (including Chopin, Bartok, and Satie), Monk, Coltrane, Parker, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Chucho Valdés, and the pioneering Cuban jazz group Irakere. Moving in 1993 to Ecuador, Omar immersed himself in the folkloric traditions of Esmeraldas, the northwest coast region whose African heritage includes the distinctive marimba tradition. He relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995, and soon invigorated the Latin jazz scene with his adventurous writing and percussive style.
Annually performing upwards of 100 concerts on six continents, Omar has appeared in venues as diverse as the Blue Note (New York, Milan, and Tokyo), Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center, the Getty Center, London’s Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Hall, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, and Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt; festivals including Monterey Jazz, JVC Jazz, Montreal Jazz, Marciac Jazz, North Sea Jazz, Helsinki, Grenoble Jazz, Montreux Jazz, Naples Jazz, Ravenna Jazz, Roma Jazz, Spoletto, WOMAD, and Cape Town International Jazz; and universities on several continents, including a visiting artist fellowship at Princeton University in March 2008, and a visiting artist residency at Dartmouth College in April 2008. Omar will return to Dartmouth College for a second artist residency in February 2011.
Mr. Sosa received a lifetime achievement award from the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC in 2003 for his contribution to the development of Latin jazz in the United States. He has received two nominations from the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, in 2004 and 2006, both in the ‘Americas’ category. In 2003 Omar Sosa received the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Album of the Year Award from the Jazz Journalists Association in NYC for his recording Sentir; and a nomination from the Jazz Journalists Association for Latin Jazz Album of the Year in 2005 for his recording Mulatos. Omar Sosa received an orchestral commission from Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and the Oakland Easy Bay Symphony, supported by grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the MAP Fund (Multi-Arts Production Fund). During 2001-2002, Mr. Sosa composed a 45-minute work in three movements for symphony orchestra entitled, From Our Mother, which received its world premiere in January 2003 by the Oakland East Bay Symphony under the direction of Michael Morgan. In 2009, Mr. Sosa received an orchestral commission from the city of Girona, Spain and the Festival de Músicas Religiosas y del Mundo de Girona. The 20-minute work for symphony orchestra, entitled Oda Africana, received its world premiere in July 2009 by the Jove Orquesta Athenea, conducted by Lluis Caballeria. Also in 2009, Mr. Sosa received a commission from the Barcelona Jazz Festival to present a tribute to Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue recording, featuring Afro-Cuban interpretations of the seminal Davis work on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The project was performed at L’Auditori in Barcelona in November 2009.
In 2008, Omar Sosa received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in conjunction with Yerba Buena Gardens (San Francisco) and the San Francisco International Arts Festival to present a new Omar Sosa Quintet featuring American roots vocalist Tim Eriksen. This collaboration resulted in the 2009 CD release on Half Note Records, Across The Divide, recorded live at the Blue Note Jazz Club in NYC. The project received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary World Music Album, and a Latin GRAMMY nomination for Best Instrumental Album, both in 2009. For May 2011, Mr. Sosa has received further funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in conjunction with the Jazz School in Berkeley, California and the San Francisco International Arts Festival, to present a series of workshops with noted Latin jazz percussionist, educator and historian, John Santos, as well as a Festival performance in San Francisco with his primary touring ensemble, Afreecanos Quartet.
Mr. Sosa’s recording career began in 1997 with the release of his first solo piano recording, Omar Omar on the Oakland, California-based record label, Otá Records, and has continued with the release of 22 CDs as a leader, resulting in five GRAMMY nominations. These include a 2002 GRAMMY nomination and Latin GRAMMY nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album for the CD Sentir; a 2005 GRAMMY nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album for the CD Mulatos, featuring Cuban saxophone and clarinet master, Paquito D’Rivera; and the two nominations for Across The Divide in 2009. Omar works with an array of African, Arabic, European, Indian, Latin, and North American musicians. Among his many associations are drummers and percussionists Steve Argüelles, Julio Barretto, Mino Cinelu, Miguel "Angá" Diaz, Marque Gilmore, Trilok Gurtu, Marcos Ilukán, Ramiro Musotto, Gustavo Ovalles, Pancho Quinto, Adam Rudolph, John Santos, Carlos "Patato" Valdés, and Orestes Vilató; singers Tim Eriksen, Lázaro Galarraga, Marta Galarraga, El Houssaine Kili, Xiomara Laugart, María Márquez, Will Power, Mola Sylla, the Tenores San Gavino de Oniferi - Sardinia, and Dhafer Youssef; trumpeter Paolo Fresu; and woodwind masters Paquito D'Rivera, Luis Depestre, Leandro Saint-Hill, and Mark Weinstein.
A major new project bears the fruit of Omar's first big band collaboration, working with composer Jaques Morelenbaum and Hamburg's North German Radio (NDR) Bigband. Recorded in 2007 and 2008 at the NDR studios in Hamburg, it features Jaques Morelenbaum arrangements of material from the Omar Sosa CDs Spirit Of The Roots (1999), Bembón (2000), and Afreecanos (2008). Jaques Morelenbaum has arranged for Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Cesária Evora, among many others. Omar Sosa-NDR Bigband performances were held at the Banlieues Bleues festival in Paris and the NDR studios in March 2010; and will be presented again by the Barcelona Jazz Festival in November 2010 at that city's famous Palau Música Catalana, with Jaques Morelenbaum conducting.
New performing pursuits include a trio with noted Italian trumpet player Paolo Fresu and master Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu. Notable video productions include Light In The Sky, filmed in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil and directed by Aitor Echeverria (from the 2008 CD release Afreecanos), and the recent DVD release of Omar Sosa's 2007 Java Jazz Festival performance in Jakarta, Indonesia. For film and television, Omar Sosa collaborated in 2008 on the soundtrack for the PBS documentary, The Judge and the General; and completed the soundtrack for the 2010 film The Last Flight of the Flamingo, produced by Fado Filmes in Lisbon, Portugal, and based on Mia Couto's famous novel about Mozambique. Mr. Sosa also contributed a musical excerpt to the 2006 Andy Garcia film, The Lost City.
In 2011, Omar released his fifth solo piano recording, Calma, which received a Latin GRAMMY nomination. Featuring Omar's unique and original approach to the genre, the CD is comprised of 13 solo piano improvisations, fusing stylistic elements of jazz, classical new music, ambient, and electronica. In January 2012, Omar collaborated with celebrated Italian trumpet and flugelhorn player, Paolo Fresu, on the release of Alma. The CD features guest cello contributions on four tracks by the masterful Brazilian conductor, arranger, producer, and cellist, Jaques Morelenbaum. Produced by Paolo Fresu and Omar Sosa for Mr. Fresu's label imprint, Tuk Music, the compositions are written by Omar Sosa and Paolo Fresu, except for Under African Skies, a gentle version of the popular track from the Paul Simon CD, Graceland. Omar Sosa's next studio album, “Eggun: The Afri-Lectric Experience”, is set for release worldwide in February 2013. Eggun, in the West African spiritual practice of Ifa and its various expressions throughout the African Diaspora, are the spirits of those who have gone before us, both in our personal families and those who serve as our spiritual guides.
The Omar Sosa Afri-Lectric Experience began as a commission from the Barcelona Jazz Festival in 2009. The assignment: to compose and produce a tribute performance to Miles Davis' classic Kind Of Blue recording on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. Inspired by various musical elements and motifs from Kind Of Blue, Omar wrote a suite of music honoring the spirit of freedom in Davis' seminal work. Featuring trumpet and two saxophones, Eggun provides a medium for musical elements from Africa to shape and develop the music, and the resulting jazz textures are further enriched by the subtle and expressive use of electronic elements. At the heart of the recording is the spirit of Mother Africa. Following the success of the Kind Of Blue commission, Omar began to include the new arrangements into the repertoire of his regular touring ensemble, resulting in the creation of the The Afri-Lectric Experience. The featured horn players are Joo Kraus on trumpet (from Germany), Leandro Saint-Hill on saxophones and flute (from Cuba), and Peter Apfelbaum on saxophones and percussion (from U.S.A.). Omar's longtime rhythm section of Marque Gilmore on drums (from U.S.A.) and Childo Tomas on electric bass (from Mozambique) create the foundation. Special guests on the project include Lionel Loueke on guitars (from Benin), Marvin Sewell on guitars (from U.S.A.), Pedro Martinez on Afro-Cuban percussion (from Cuba), John Santos on percussion (from U.S.A.) and Gustavo Ovalles on Afro-Venezuelan percussion (from Venezuela). The CD was recorded primarily in Brooklyn, NY.
In January 2014, Omar released his 5th solo piano recording, Senses. It was created at EMPAC, the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Omar was invited to an artist residency at EMPAC in 2012 by Zimbabwean dancer / choreographer Nora Chipaumire to compose music for Nora’s dance-theater piece, Miriam. The sound score for Miriam received a BESSIE Nomination for a New York Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Musical Composition / Sound Design. In March 2015, Omar released a CD with his Quarteto AfroCubano, entitled Ilé. This recording marked a homecoming for Omar to his formative years in late ‘80s and early ‘90s Havana. Ilé means home, or earth, in the Lucumí tradition to his of Cuba, derived from the Yoruba language of West Africa, and it is to the Latin Jazz roots of his native Cuba that Omar returns for inspiration on this new CD. Joining him on the project are three musicians with whom Omar shares a close connection: fellow Camagüeyanos, Ernesto Simpson on drums, and Leandro Saint-Hill on alto saxophone, flute and clarinet, and Mozambican electric electic bassist Childo Tomas – collectively known as Quarteto AfroCubano. These musicians speak the same musical language, using their Cuban and African traditions as a springboard for creative freedom.
Upcoming recording projects for Omar Sosa include a unique collaboration with Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita and Chinese sheng player Wu Tong, entitled Transparent Water, which was released in February 2017; a second CD production with Italian trumpet player Paolo Fresu, following their 2012 release, Alma, featuring Brazilian cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, entitled Eros, and set for release in May 2016; and a follow-up CD with the NDR Bigband, featuring arrangements again by Jaques Morelenbaum, entitled Es:sensual, was released in Germany in early 2017. New touring projects for Omar Sosa include JOG Trio, featuring award-winning German trumpet player Joo Kraus, and folkloric Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Their CD, entitled JOG, was released in GAS, Poland, Benelux and Scandinavia in October 2015 by Hamburg-based SKIP Records. A co-leader project with tenor saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart from Guadeloupe, entitled Creole Spirits, was launched in April 2016 with a creation residency in Guadeloupe. This gathering resulted in an EPK video produced by noted French filmmaker Frank Cassenti.
Omar’s second CD with the NDR Bigband, “Es:sensual”, was released in the U.S. and Japan, et al, in January 2018, with arrangements again by noted Brazilian master, Jaques Morelenbaum, and featuring a number of Omar’s signature compositions, “Cha Cha du Nord”, and “My Three Notes”. In October 2018, Omar and violinist-vocalist Yilian Cañizares released Aguas, a very beautiful and personal album. Featuring their compatriot, percussionist Inor Sotolongo, Aguas reflects the perspectives of two generations of Cuban artists living outside their homeland, interpreting their roots and traditions in subtle and unique ways. Songs range from the poignant to the exuberant, and are expressive of the exceptional musical chemistry, poetic sensibilities, and originality of the artists.
The material on Aguas is an inventive and engaging mix of the artists’ Afro-Cuban roots, Western classical music, and jazz. The album is dedicated to Water, and especially to Oshun, the Goddess of Love and Mistress of Rivers in the Lucumí tradition of Yoruba ancestry known in Cuba as Santería – a spiritual practice important to both artists. As water is synonymous with life, and energy, and strength, and space, the music of the album is inspired by the important influences of water – its hidden powers, its infinite transmutations, and its relentless creation. There is a sense, as well, for Omar and Yilian, of how water represents both separation from, and nostalgia for, the land of their birth. Omar and Yilian will be doing a CD release tour in the Fall of 2018, in Trio with folkloric Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Highlights include a London Jazz Festival show at the Barbican, an NDR 60th Anniversary concert at Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and two nights at Bal Blomet in Paris.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Acoustic pianist Omar Sosa has done his share of ensemble work, and he has often demonstrated that he is an insightful, thoughtful arranger. But the Cuban improviser takes a break from ensemble work on Ayaguna, which focuses on a July 25, 2002, concert in Yokohama, Japan. This time, Sosa forms an intimate duo with Venezuelan drummer Gustavo Ovalles, who plays a variety of Latin percussion -- not only the Afro-Cuban percussion one would expect to hear on a Sosa album, but also various Venezuelan percussion instruments that are used in traditional joropo music. The two musicians enjoy a strong rapport throughout this Latin jazz/post-bop CD, which tends to have a very spiritual quality. In fact, some of the material is mindful of Santeria, a Caribbean faith that contains elements of Catholicism as well as the West African Yoruba religion. Santeria is practiced in Cuba and other parts of Latin America, and titles like "Eleggua in the Road" and "Dias de Iyawo" underscore Sosa's interest in the Yoruba and Santeria beliefs. But listeners don't have to know anything about Yoruba or Santeria to appreciate Ayaguna; whatever one's spiritual leanings, it is obvious that Sosa plays with a great deal of feeling on these performances. Sosa is a lively yet lyrical improviser who combines Latin and African elements with the influence of McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, and George Duke (among others). And because he doesn't have a whole ensemble to worry about at this Japanese concert, his playing tends to be especially free-spirited and uninhibited.
Omar Sosa - Across The Divide (flac 268mb)
01 Promised Land 7:05
02 Giu-Giu 5:39
03 Gabriel's Trumpet 6:15
04 Across Africa (The Dream) 3:29
05 Across Africa (Arrival) 5:34
06 Sugar Baby Blues 5:08
07 Night Of The Four Songs 5:12
08 Solstice 4:45
09 Ancestors 5:09
Omar Sosa - Across The Divide (ogg 107mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Two brilliant minds joined forces on Ceremony, the new album by Cuban pianist and composer Omar Sosa, who is one of the most exciting musicians in the current international jazz scene. The album is the result of the collaboration between Omar Sosa and renowned Brazilian cellist, composer and arranger Jacques Morelenbaum. Ceremony features the reputable 18–piece NDR Bigband (North German Radio / Norddeutscher Rundfunk) from Hamburg, and the excellent Omar Sosa Quartet, featuring Cuban drummer Julio Barreto, Mozambican bassist Childo Tomas, and Cuban percussionist Marcos Ilukán. Sosa himself plays piano and marimba. Sosa's impressive body of work has deep Cuban roots, including the music batá ceremonies, Cuban son, danzón, and cha cha chá, as well as elements from Pacific Coast Afro-Colombian and Afro-Ecuadorian traditions, featuring the use of various traditional rhythms and marimbas.
The album was recorded in two sessions (2007 and 2008) at NDR's Hamburg studios, under the direction of Morelenbaum and Sosa. Ceremony includes Morelenbaum's masterful arrangements of musical pieces from Omar Sosa's recordings Spirit of the Roots (1999), Bembón (2000), and Afreecanos (2009) . In addition, two new compositions by Omar Sosa are featured, "Llegada Con Elegba" (Arrival with Elegba, the introductory track) and "Salida Con Elegba" (Departure with Elegba, the closing piece). Elegba is a Yoruba deity worshipped by some Cubans, the divine messenger and guardian spirit, the all-powerful medium and diviner of human fate.
Ceremony grew out of a conversation with Hamburg producer Stefan Gerdes of NDR, who brokered the connection with Jacques Morelenbaum, who is much sought after as an arranger, reflecting his signal work with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Cesária Evora, and Mariza, among many others. The NDR Bigband is an ensemble of accomplished soloists. Jörg Achim Keller is the musical director. The orchestra includes trumpeters Thorsten Benkenstein, Ingolf Burkhardt, Claus Stötter and Reiner Winterschladen; saxophonists Fiete Felsch (alto), Peter Bolte (alto), Christof Lauer (tenor), Lutz Büchner (tenor) and Frank Delle (baritone); trombonists Dan Gottshall, Klaus Heidenreich, Stefan Lottermann and Ingo Lahme; keyboardist Vladyslav Sendecki; guitarist Stephan Diez; bassist Ingmar Heller; and percussionist Marcio Doctor. Ceremony is a new masterpiece by one of the powerhouses of jazz and Afro-Cuban music.
Omar Sosa y NDR Bigband - Ceremony (flac 384mb)
01 Llegada Con Elegba 3:06
02 Chango En Esmeraldas 6:19
03 Danzon De Tus Ojos 7:31
04 Yemaya En Agua Larga 6:39
05 Luz En El Cielo 8:41
06 Cha Con Marimba 5:43
07 Mi Tradicion 6:28
08 Carambaba 7:53
09 Monkuru 7:07
10 Salida Con Elegba 2:56
Omar Sosa y NDR Bigband - Ceremony (ogg 152mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Although Omar Sosa has excelled in group settings, the Cuban pianist has demonstrated that he is also quite comfortable playing unaccompanied, which is what he does on Calma. Sosa has no accompaniment at all on Calma, a 2009 recording that combines post-bop with elements of world music and Euro-classical music. He not only plays the acoustic piano here; but is also heard on electric keyboards and using some sampling and electronics. And the very fact that Sosa doesn't adhere to an all-acoustic-all-the-time policy on this 51-minute CD will no doubt scare jazz purists away. Regardless, Sosa's acoustic piano is the dominant instrument, and 95-percent of the time, Calma sounds played rather than programmed. In both Spanish and Italian, the word "calma" means "calm", which is exactly how Sosa sounds on this album; his playing is calm and relaxed, and a contemplative mood prevails on originals such as "Innocence," "Esperanza," "Walking Together," and "Aguas." That is not to say that Calma is one-dimensional. Different world music influences assert themselves on different pieces, and during the course of the album, Sosa incorporates everything from Afro-Cuban music to Indian, Middle Eastern/Arabic, Asian, and North African music. Plus, there is the Euro-classical influence: "Dance of Reflection," for example, hints at Erik Satie (who died in 1925 but continues to influence both classical and jazz musicians after all these years). So even though Sosa maintains a certain mood on Calma, there is also a fair amount of variety. Again, Calma doesn't cater to jazz purists, and the rigid dogmatists and musical ideologues who think that Chick Corea, George Duke, and Herbie Hancock sold their souls to Beelzebub when they started playing electric keyboards, will want to avoid this album. But for those who realize that non-acoustic instruments do, in fact, have a place in jazz, Calma is yet another absorbing effort from Sosa.
Omar Sosa - Calma (flac 168mb)
01 Sunrise 3:47
02 Absence 4:00
03 Walking Together 3:38
04 Esperanza 5:23
05 Innocence 3:25
06 Oasis 3:10
07 Aguas 3:37
08 Looking Within 5:02
09 Dance Of Reflection 3:45
10 Autumn Flowers 3:33
11 Reposo 3:31
12 Madre 3:18
13 Sunset 4:05
(ogg mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
With every passing year, pianist Omar Sosa continues to define what contemporary world music can be. Each effort is quite different than the previous one, while the bright colors, timbres, and elements of his Cuban-based music are elevated higher and higher. In his restlessness to find further truth and beauty, there's a calm serenity and unabashed confidence in his vision and personal musicianship. With a unique piano style that draws from a huge pool of influences—everyone from Bill Evans to Keith Jarrett to ECM down-tempo to Frank Emilio to Esbjorn Svensson (RIP) to Jean-Michel Pilc—his crystalline tone, deftness of touch, rhythmic sophistication, and consummate taste place him among the top living jazz piano players. This is music you simply can’t go wrong with. Splendid, luminous, burning with a quiet intensity, Afreecanos marks Omar Sosa as the most brilliant exponent of world jazz.
Paolo Fresu y Omar Sosa - Alma (flac 285mb)
01 S'Inguldu 5:35
02 Inverno Grigio 5:28
03 No Trance 3:36
04 Alma 5:49
05 Angustia 4:34
06 Crepuscolo 3:15
07 Moon On The Sky 5:59
08 Old D Blues 6:36
09 Medley: Niños 4:00
10 Nenia 5:23
11 Under African Skies 7:28
12 Rimanere Grande! 2:58
Paolo Fresu y Omar Sosa - Alma (ogg 130mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Today's artist is a prolific, much lauded performer known for his genre-bending recordings fusing Latin jazz, African traditions, avant-garde improvisation, classical music, and more. Born on April 10, 1965 in Camaguey, Cuba, he began studying music at age five while attending the Escuela Provincial de Musica in Camaguey. This led to his intense study of drums and percussion at two other schools during the late '70s and early '80s: Cuba's Escuela Nacional de Musica and Instituto Superior de Arte. He has played with a number of world musicians all around the globe, and often collaborates with those outside the jazz and Afro-Cuban traditions. Sosa mixes jazz influences alongside Latin rhythms, North African percussions and spoken word/rap lyrics. He also references classical music. Political and spiritual, he describes his music as an expression of humanism and Santería. On various projects his sounds have ranged from pleasant and melodic, big Latin band, piano improvisation, world music, to free jazz and avant-garde. .......N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Composer-pianist-bandleader Omar Sosa was born in 1965 in Camagüey, Cuba’s largest inland city. At age eight, Omar began studying percussion and marimba at the music conservatory in Camagüey; in Havana, as a teenager, he took up piano at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Música, and completed his formal education at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. Among his influences, Omar cites traditional Afro-Cuban music, European classical composers (including Chopin, Bartok, and Satie), Monk, Coltrane, Parker, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Chucho Valdés, and the pioneering Cuban jazz group Irakere. Moving in 1993 to Ecuador, Omar immersed himself in the folkloric traditions of Esmeraldas, the northwest coast region whose African heritage includes the distinctive marimba tradition. He relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995, and soon invigorated the Latin jazz scene with his adventurous writing and percussive style.
Annually performing upwards of 100 concerts on six continents, Omar has appeared in venues as diverse as the Blue Note (New York, Milan, and Tokyo), Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center, the Getty Center, London’s Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Hall, Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, and Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt; festivals including Monterey Jazz, JVC Jazz, Montreal Jazz, Marciac Jazz, North Sea Jazz, Helsinki, Grenoble Jazz, Montreux Jazz, Naples Jazz, Ravenna Jazz, Roma Jazz, Spoletto, WOMAD, and Cape Town International Jazz; and universities on several continents, including a visiting artist fellowship at Princeton University in March 2008, and a visiting artist residency at Dartmouth College in April 2008. Omar will return to Dartmouth College for a second artist residency in February 2011.
Mr. Sosa received a lifetime achievement award from the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC in 2003 for his contribution to the development of Latin jazz in the United States. He has received two nominations from the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, in 2004 and 2006, both in the ‘Americas’ category. In 2003 Omar Sosa received the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Album of the Year Award from the Jazz Journalists Association in NYC for his recording Sentir; and a nomination from the Jazz Journalists Association for Latin Jazz Album of the Year in 2005 for his recording Mulatos. Omar Sosa received an orchestral commission from Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and the Oakland Easy Bay Symphony, supported by grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and the MAP Fund (Multi-Arts Production Fund). During 2001-2002, Mr. Sosa composed a 45-minute work in three movements for symphony orchestra entitled, From Our Mother, which received its world premiere in January 2003 by the Oakland East Bay Symphony under the direction of Michael Morgan. In 2009, Mr. Sosa received an orchestral commission from the city of Girona, Spain and the Festival de Músicas Religiosas y del Mundo de Girona. The 20-minute work for symphony orchestra, entitled Oda Africana, received its world premiere in July 2009 by the Jove Orquesta Athenea, conducted by Lluis Caballeria. Also in 2009, Mr. Sosa received a commission from the Barcelona Jazz Festival to present a tribute to Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue recording, featuring Afro-Cuban interpretations of the seminal Davis work on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The project was performed at L’Auditori in Barcelona in November 2009.
In 2008, Omar Sosa received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in conjunction with Yerba Buena Gardens (San Francisco) and the San Francisco International Arts Festival to present a new Omar Sosa Quintet featuring American roots vocalist Tim Eriksen. This collaboration resulted in the 2009 CD release on Half Note Records, Across The Divide, recorded live at the Blue Note Jazz Club in NYC. The project received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary World Music Album, and a Latin GRAMMY nomination for Best Instrumental Album, both in 2009. For May 2011, Mr. Sosa has received further funding from the National Endowment for the Arts in conjunction with the Jazz School in Berkeley, California and the San Francisco International Arts Festival, to present a series of workshops with noted Latin jazz percussionist, educator and historian, John Santos, as well as a Festival performance in San Francisco with his primary touring ensemble, Afreecanos Quartet.
Mr. Sosa’s recording career began in 1997 with the release of his first solo piano recording, Omar Omar on the Oakland, California-based record label, Otá Records, and has continued with the release of 22 CDs as a leader, resulting in five GRAMMY nominations. These include a 2002 GRAMMY nomination and Latin GRAMMY nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album for the CD Sentir; a 2005 GRAMMY nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album for the CD Mulatos, featuring Cuban saxophone and clarinet master, Paquito D’Rivera; and the two nominations for Across The Divide in 2009. Omar works with an array of African, Arabic, European, Indian, Latin, and North American musicians. Among his many associations are drummers and percussionists Steve Argüelles, Julio Barretto, Mino Cinelu, Miguel "Angá" Diaz, Marque Gilmore, Trilok Gurtu, Marcos Ilukán, Ramiro Musotto, Gustavo Ovalles, Pancho Quinto, Adam Rudolph, John Santos, Carlos "Patato" Valdés, and Orestes Vilató; singers Tim Eriksen, Lázaro Galarraga, Marta Galarraga, El Houssaine Kili, Xiomara Laugart, María Márquez, Will Power, Mola Sylla, the Tenores San Gavino de Oniferi - Sardinia, and Dhafer Youssef; trumpeter Paolo Fresu; and woodwind masters Paquito D'Rivera, Luis Depestre, Leandro Saint-Hill, and Mark Weinstein.
A major new project bears the fruit of Omar's first big band collaboration, working with composer Jaques Morelenbaum and Hamburg's North German Radio (NDR) Bigband. Recorded in 2007 and 2008 at the NDR studios in Hamburg, it features Jaques Morelenbaum arrangements of material from the Omar Sosa CDs Spirit Of The Roots (1999), Bembón (2000), and Afreecanos (2008). Jaques Morelenbaum has arranged for Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Cesária Evora, among many others. Omar Sosa-NDR Bigband performances were held at the Banlieues Bleues festival in Paris and the NDR studios in March 2010; and will be presented again by the Barcelona Jazz Festival in November 2010 at that city's famous Palau Música Catalana, with Jaques Morelenbaum conducting.
New performing pursuits include a trio with noted Italian trumpet player Paolo Fresu and master Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu. Notable video productions include Light In The Sky, filmed in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil and directed by Aitor Echeverria (from the 2008 CD release Afreecanos), and the recent DVD release of Omar Sosa's 2007 Java Jazz Festival performance in Jakarta, Indonesia. For film and television, Omar Sosa collaborated in 2008 on the soundtrack for the PBS documentary, The Judge and the General; and completed the soundtrack for the 2010 film The Last Flight of the Flamingo, produced by Fado Filmes in Lisbon, Portugal, and based on Mia Couto's famous novel about Mozambique. Mr. Sosa also contributed a musical excerpt to the 2006 Andy Garcia film, The Lost City.
In 2011, Omar released his fifth solo piano recording, Calma, which received a Latin GRAMMY nomination. Featuring Omar's unique and original approach to the genre, the CD is comprised of 13 solo piano improvisations, fusing stylistic elements of jazz, classical new music, ambient, and electronica. In January 2012, Omar collaborated with celebrated Italian trumpet and flugelhorn player, Paolo Fresu, on the release of Alma. The CD features guest cello contributions on four tracks by the masterful Brazilian conductor, arranger, producer, and cellist, Jaques Morelenbaum. Produced by Paolo Fresu and Omar Sosa for Mr. Fresu's label imprint, Tuk Music, the compositions are written by Omar Sosa and Paolo Fresu, except for Under African Skies, a gentle version of the popular track from the Paul Simon CD, Graceland. Omar Sosa's next studio album, “Eggun: The Afri-Lectric Experience”, is set for release worldwide in February 2013. Eggun, in the West African spiritual practice of Ifa and its various expressions throughout the African Diaspora, are the spirits of those who have gone before us, both in our personal families and those who serve as our spiritual guides.
The Omar Sosa Afri-Lectric Experience began as a commission from the Barcelona Jazz Festival in 2009. The assignment: to compose and produce a tribute performance to Miles Davis' classic Kind Of Blue recording on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. Inspired by various musical elements and motifs from Kind Of Blue, Omar wrote a suite of music honoring the spirit of freedom in Davis' seminal work. Featuring trumpet and two saxophones, Eggun provides a medium for musical elements from Africa to shape and develop the music, and the resulting jazz textures are further enriched by the subtle and expressive use of electronic elements. At the heart of the recording is the spirit of Mother Africa. Following the success of the Kind Of Blue commission, Omar began to include the new arrangements into the repertoire of his regular touring ensemble, resulting in the creation of the The Afri-Lectric Experience. The featured horn players are Joo Kraus on trumpet (from Germany), Leandro Saint-Hill on saxophones and flute (from Cuba), and Peter Apfelbaum on saxophones and percussion (from U.S.A.). Omar's longtime rhythm section of Marque Gilmore on drums (from U.S.A.) and Childo Tomas on electric bass (from Mozambique) create the foundation. Special guests on the project include Lionel Loueke on guitars (from Benin), Marvin Sewell on guitars (from U.S.A.), Pedro Martinez on Afro-Cuban percussion (from Cuba), John Santos on percussion (from U.S.A.) and Gustavo Ovalles on Afro-Venezuelan percussion (from Venezuela). The CD was recorded primarily in Brooklyn, NY.
In January 2014, Omar released his 5th solo piano recording, Senses. It was created at EMPAC, the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Omar was invited to an artist residency at EMPAC in 2012 by Zimbabwean dancer / choreographer Nora Chipaumire to compose music for Nora’s dance-theater piece, Miriam. The sound score for Miriam received a BESSIE Nomination for a New York Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Musical Composition / Sound Design. In March 2015, Omar released a CD with his Quarteto AfroCubano, entitled Ilé. This recording marked a homecoming for Omar to his formative years in late ‘80s and early ‘90s Havana. Ilé means home, or earth, in the Lucumí tradition to his of Cuba, derived from the Yoruba language of West Africa, and it is to the Latin Jazz roots of his native Cuba that Omar returns for inspiration on this new CD. Joining him on the project are three musicians with whom Omar shares a close connection: fellow Camagüeyanos, Ernesto Simpson on drums, and Leandro Saint-Hill on alto saxophone, flute and clarinet, and Mozambican electric electic bassist Childo Tomas – collectively known as Quarteto AfroCubano. These musicians speak the same musical language, using their Cuban and African traditions as a springboard for creative freedom.
Upcoming recording projects for Omar Sosa include a unique collaboration with Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita and Chinese sheng player Wu Tong, entitled Transparent Water, which was released in February 2017; a second CD production with Italian trumpet player Paolo Fresu, following their 2012 release, Alma, featuring Brazilian cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, entitled Eros, and set for release in May 2016; and a follow-up CD with the NDR Bigband, featuring arrangements again by Jaques Morelenbaum, entitled Es:sensual, was released in Germany in early 2017. New touring projects for Omar Sosa include JOG Trio, featuring award-winning German trumpet player Joo Kraus, and folkloric Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Their CD, entitled JOG, was released in GAS, Poland, Benelux and Scandinavia in October 2015 by Hamburg-based SKIP Records. A co-leader project with tenor saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart from Guadeloupe, entitled Creole Spirits, was launched in April 2016 with a creation residency in Guadeloupe. This gathering resulted in an EPK video produced by noted French filmmaker Frank Cassenti.
Omar’s second CD with the NDR Bigband, “Es:sensual”, was released in the U.S. and Japan, et al, in January 2018, with arrangements again by noted Brazilian master, Jaques Morelenbaum, and featuring a number of Omar’s signature compositions, “Cha Cha du Nord”, and “My Three Notes”. In October 2018, Omar and violinist-vocalist Yilian Cañizares released Aguas, a very beautiful and personal album. Featuring their compatriot, percussionist Inor Sotolongo, Aguas reflects the perspectives of two generations of Cuban artists living outside their homeland, interpreting their roots and traditions in subtle and unique ways. Songs range from the poignant to the exuberant, and are expressive of the exceptional musical chemistry, poetic sensibilities, and originality of the artists.
The material on Aguas is an inventive and engaging mix of the artists’ Afro-Cuban roots, Western classical music, and jazz. The album is dedicated to Water, and especially to Oshun, the Goddess of Love and Mistress of Rivers in the Lucumí tradition of Yoruba ancestry known in Cuba as Santería – a spiritual practice important to both artists. As water is synonymous with life, and energy, and strength, and space, the music of the album is inspired by the important influences of water – its hidden powers, its infinite transmutations, and its relentless creation. There is a sense, as well, for Omar and Yilian, of how water represents both separation from, and nostalgia for, the land of their birth. Omar and Yilian will be doing a CD release tour in the Fall of 2018, in Trio with folkloric Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Highlights include a London Jazz Festival show at the Barbican, an NDR 60th Anniversary concert at Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and two nights at Bal Blomet in Paris.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Acoustic pianist Omar Sosa has done his share of ensemble work, and he has often demonstrated that he is an insightful, thoughtful arranger. But the Cuban improviser takes a break from ensemble work on Ayaguna, which focuses on a July 25, 2002, concert in Yokohama, Japan. This time, Sosa forms an intimate duo with Venezuelan drummer Gustavo Ovalles, who plays a variety of Latin percussion -- not only the Afro-Cuban percussion one would expect to hear on a Sosa album, but also various Venezuelan percussion instruments that are used in traditional joropo music. The two musicians enjoy a strong rapport throughout this Latin jazz/post-bop CD, which tends to have a very spiritual quality. In fact, some of the material is mindful of Santeria, a Caribbean faith that contains elements of Catholicism as well as the West African Yoruba religion. Santeria is practiced in Cuba and other parts of Latin America, and titles like "Eleggua in the Road" and "Dias de Iyawo" underscore Sosa's interest in the Yoruba and Santeria beliefs. But listeners don't have to know anything about Yoruba or Santeria to appreciate Ayaguna; whatever one's spiritual leanings, it is obvious that Sosa plays with a great deal of feeling on these performances. Sosa is a lively yet lyrical improviser who combines Latin and African elements with the influence of McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, and George Duke (among others). And because he doesn't have a whole ensemble to worry about at this Japanese concert, his playing tends to be especially free-spirited and uninhibited.
Omar Sosa - Across The Divide (flac 268mb)
01 Promised Land 7:05
02 Giu-Giu 5:39
03 Gabriel's Trumpet 6:15
04 Across Africa (The Dream) 3:29
05 Across Africa (Arrival) 5:34
06 Sugar Baby Blues 5:08
07 Night Of The Four Songs 5:12
08 Solstice 4:45
09 Ancestors 5:09
Omar Sosa - Across The Divide (ogg 107mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Two brilliant minds joined forces on Ceremony, the new album by Cuban pianist and composer Omar Sosa, who is one of the most exciting musicians in the current international jazz scene. The album is the result of the collaboration between Omar Sosa and renowned Brazilian cellist, composer and arranger Jacques Morelenbaum. Ceremony features the reputable 18–piece NDR Bigband (North German Radio / Norddeutscher Rundfunk) from Hamburg, and the excellent Omar Sosa Quartet, featuring Cuban drummer Julio Barreto, Mozambican bassist Childo Tomas, and Cuban percussionist Marcos Ilukán. Sosa himself plays piano and marimba. Sosa's impressive body of work has deep Cuban roots, including the music batá ceremonies, Cuban son, danzón, and cha cha chá, as well as elements from Pacific Coast Afro-Colombian and Afro-Ecuadorian traditions, featuring the use of various traditional rhythms and marimbas.
The album was recorded in two sessions (2007 and 2008) at NDR's Hamburg studios, under the direction of Morelenbaum and Sosa. Ceremony includes Morelenbaum's masterful arrangements of musical pieces from Omar Sosa's recordings Spirit of the Roots (1999), Bembón (2000), and Afreecanos (2009) . In addition, two new compositions by Omar Sosa are featured, "Llegada Con Elegba" (Arrival with Elegba, the introductory track) and "Salida Con Elegba" (Departure with Elegba, the closing piece). Elegba is a Yoruba deity worshipped by some Cubans, the divine messenger and guardian spirit, the all-powerful medium and diviner of human fate.
Ceremony grew out of a conversation with Hamburg producer Stefan Gerdes of NDR, who brokered the connection with Jacques Morelenbaum, who is much sought after as an arranger, reflecting his signal work with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Cesária Evora, and Mariza, among many others. The NDR Bigband is an ensemble of accomplished soloists. Jörg Achim Keller is the musical director. The orchestra includes trumpeters Thorsten Benkenstein, Ingolf Burkhardt, Claus Stötter and Reiner Winterschladen; saxophonists Fiete Felsch (alto), Peter Bolte (alto), Christof Lauer (tenor), Lutz Büchner (tenor) and Frank Delle (baritone); trombonists Dan Gottshall, Klaus Heidenreich, Stefan Lottermann and Ingo Lahme; keyboardist Vladyslav Sendecki; guitarist Stephan Diez; bassist Ingmar Heller; and percussionist Marcio Doctor. Ceremony is a new masterpiece by one of the powerhouses of jazz and Afro-Cuban music.
Omar Sosa y NDR Bigband - Ceremony (flac 384mb)
01 Llegada Con Elegba 3:06
02 Chango En Esmeraldas 6:19
03 Danzon De Tus Ojos 7:31
04 Yemaya En Agua Larga 6:39
05 Luz En El Cielo 8:41
06 Cha Con Marimba 5:43
07 Mi Tradicion 6:28
08 Carambaba 7:53
09 Monkuru 7:07
10 Salida Con Elegba 2:56
Omar Sosa y NDR Bigband - Ceremony (ogg 152mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Although Omar Sosa has excelled in group settings, the Cuban pianist has demonstrated that he is also quite comfortable playing unaccompanied, which is what he does on Calma. Sosa has no accompaniment at all on Calma, a 2009 recording that combines post-bop with elements of world music and Euro-classical music. He not only plays the acoustic piano here; but is also heard on electric keyboards and using some sampling and electronics. And the very fact that Sosa doesn't adhere to an all-acoustic-all-the-time policy on this 51-minute CD will no doubt scare jazz purists away. Regardless, Sosa's acoustic piano is the dominant instrument, and 95-percent of the time, Calma sounds played rather than programmed. In both Spanish and Italian, the word "calma" means "calm", which is exactly how Sosa sounds on this album; his playing is calm and relaxed, and a contemplative mood prevails on originals such as "Innocence," "Esperanza," "Walking Together," and "Aguas." That is not to say that Calma is one-dimensional. Different world music influences assert themselves on different pieces, and during the course of the album, Sosa incorporates everything from Afro-Cuban music to Indian, Middle Eastern/Arabic, Asian, and North African music. Plus, there is the Euro-classical influence: "Dance of Reflection," for example, hints at Erik Satie (who died in 1925 but continues to influence both classical and jazz musicians after all these years). So even though Sosa maintains a certain mood on Calma, there is also a fair amount of variety. Again, Calma doesn't cater to jazz purists, and the rigid dogmatists and musical ideologues who think that Chick Corea, George Duke, and Herbie Hancock sold their souls to Beelzebub when they started playing electric keyboards, will want to avoid this album. But for those who realize that non-acoustic instruments do, in fact, have a place in jazz, Calma is yet another absorbing effort from Sosa.
Omar Sosa - Calma (flac 168mb)
01 Sunrise 3:47
02 Absence 4:00
03 Walking Together 3:38
04 Esperanza 5:23
05 Innocence 3:25
06 Oasis 3:10
07 Aguas 3:37
08 Looking Within 5:02
09 Dance Of Reflection 3:45
10 Autumn Flowers 3:33
11 Reposo 3:31
12 Madre 3:18
13 Sunset 4:05
(ogg mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
With every passing year, pianist Omar Sosa continues to define what contemporary world music can be. Each effort is quite different than the previous one, while the bright colors, timbres, and elements of his Cuban-based music are elevated higher and higher. In his restlessness to find further truth and beauty, there's a calm serenity and unabashed confidence in his vision and personal musicianship. With a unique piano style that draws from a huge pool of influences—everyone from Bill Evans to Keith Jarrett to ECM down-tempo to Frank Emilio to Esbjorn Svensson (RIP) to Jean-Michel Pilc—his crystalline tone, deftness of touch, rhythmic sophistication, and consummate taste place him among the top living jazz piano players. This is music you simply can’t go wrong with. Splendid, luminous, burning with a quiet intensity, Afreecanos marks Omar Sosa as the most brilliant exponent of world jazz.
Paolo Fresu y Omar Sosa - Alma (flac 285mb)
01 S'Inguldu 5:35
02 Inverno Grigio 5:28
03 No Trance 3:36
04 Alma 5:49
05 Angustia 4:34
06 Crepuscolo 3:15
07 Moon On The Sky 5:59
08 Old D Blues 6:36
09 Medley: Niños 4:00
10 Nenia 5:23
11 Under African Skies 7:28
12 Rimanere Grande! 2:58
Paolo Fresu y Omar Sosa - Alma (ogg 130mb)
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
No comments:
Post a Comment