Omar Sosa

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Omar Sosa

Omar Sosa Palacios (born April 10, 1965 in Camagüey ) is a Cuban jazz pianist and composer .

Life

Through his music-interested father, a history and philosophy teacher, Omar Sosa came into contact with various musical styles at an early age, in particular with classical music , jazz and Latin American music . At the age of eight he began to learn percussion and marimba himself . This was followed by studies at the Conservatory of Camagüey and at the Escuela Nacional de Musica and the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana , where he turned away from the marimba and turned to the piano. In 1983 he finished his education and began to work with pop musicians such as Vicente Feliú and Xiomara Laugart . Thelonious Monk's music later became a defining influence. In 1993 Omar Sosa moved to Quito , where he got to know the music of the Afro-Latin Americans from Esmeraldas and led his first own group with the fusion project Entrenoz . After a short time on Mallorca, Sosa moved to San Francisco in 1995 and soon earned a reputation in the local " Latin Jazz " scene. In 1999 he moved to Barcelona .

music

Omar Sosa's music shows a wide range of styles and is influenced by a variety of influences. On a foundation of Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms, he processes North African traditional music, salsa , merengue , soul , funk , classical music, electronic music and avant-garde through to hip-hop . With the records Prietos (2001) and Sentir (2002) he began to deal more with traditional African music, especially that of the Gnawa . In the following years he worked with various other musicians such as the percussionist Adam Rudolph , Dhafer Youssef , Steve Argüelles , Paquito D'Rivera and Dieter Ilg .

Sosa regards his music as an expression of his political and spiritual consciousness and, as a follower of the Cuban religion Santería, also appears in ritual clothing.

He plays solo programs and works with various ensembles from jazz trios to big bands and symphony orchestras. His quintet Afreecanos includes drummer Marque Gilmore and Mozambican bassist Childo Tomas, musicians like Mola Sylla (or Joo Kraus ), Leandro Saint-Hil and Peter Apfelbaum .

Prizes and awards

The CD Sentir was nominated for a Grammy in the category "Best Latin Jazz Album". In 2003 Sosa was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution for his life's work and presented his first work for large orchestra with From Our Mother . In 2006 the record Mulatos was again nominated for a Grammy. The album Ceremony , arranged by Jaques Morelenbaum and created with the NDR big band , was awarded the ECHO Jazz award for best big band album in 2011 .

Discography (selection)

under his own name:

  • Omar Omar (1997)
  • Free Roots (1997)
  • Nfumbe (1998)
  • Spirit of the Roots (1999)
  • Inside (1999)
  • Bembón (2000)
  • Prietos (2001)
  • Sentir (2002) with Houssaine Kili , Martha Galarraga
  • Ayaguna (2003)
  • A New Life (2003)
  • Omar Sosa, Adam Rudolph Pictures of Soul (Otá Records, 2004)
  • Aleatoric EFX (2004)
  • Mulatos (2004)
  • Ballads (2005)
  • Mulatos Remix (2006)
  • Live à FIP (World Village, 2006)
  • Promise ( Skip Records , 2007)
  • DO - A Day Off (2007)
  • Afreecanos (Otá Records, 2008)
  • Calma (Otá Records / Skip Records, 2011)
  • Eggūn: The Afri-Lectric Experience (Otá Records / Skip Records, 2013)
  • Transparent Water (with Seckou Keita , World Village, 2017)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Stone: Omar Sosa talks with RootsWorld's Michael Stone. rootsworld.com, accessed May 6, 2006 .
  2. ↑ Ssirus W. Pakzad: Cuban Odysseus. jazzzeitung.de, accessed on May 6, 2009 .
  3. ↑ Omar Sosa. (No longer available online.) Allaboutjazz.com, archived from the original on March 5, 2008 ; Retrieved May 6, 2006 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.allaboutjazz.com
  4. ↑ Biography. Omar Sosa, accessed May 6, 2009 .
  5. ↑ At the Jazz Open with Omar Sosa (NDR)
personal data
SURNAME Sosa, Omar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sosa Palacios, Omar (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cuban musician
DATE OF BIRTH April 10, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Camaguey , Cuba