Omar Sosa

Omar Sosa
Omar Sosa in concert
Omar Sosa in concert
Background information
Born (1965-04-10) April 10, 1965 (age 59)
Camagüey, Cuba
GenresAfro-Cuban jazz, Latin jazz
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Piano, Rhodes piano, marimba
Years active1995–present
Websiteomarsosa.com

Omar Sosa (born April 10, 1965) is a jazz pianist from Cuba.[1]

Biography

A native of Camagüey, Cuba, Sosa studied percussion at the Escuela Nacional de Musica and Instituto Superior de Arte.[2] In the 1980s he started the band Tributo, recording albums and touring with the band.[2] He worked with Cuban vocalist Xiomara Laugart and several Latin jazz bands.[2] In the 1990s he moved from Cuba to Quito, Ecuador; to Palma de Mallorca, Spain; to the San Francisco Bay area, in California, United States; and finally settled in Barcelona, Spain.[3][1]

While in California, Sosa released his first few albums under his own name.[2] He had received Grammy Award nominations for four of his albums, three in the Latin Jazz category, as of 2020.[2][4] In January 2011, Sosa and the NDR Bigband[de] (North German Radio Bigband) won the 10th Independent Music Awards (IMAs) in the Jazz Album category for Ceremony.[5] He has also collaborated with Paolo Fresu, Seckou Keita, Adam Rudolph, and many other musicians.[2]

Sosa has released most of his recordings on his own Otá label.[6]

Discography

[2][6]

  • Solo Piano, originally released as Omar Omar (Otá, 1996)
  • Nfumbe: For the Unseen, with John Santos (Otá/PriceClub, 1997)[7]
  • Free Roots (Otá, 1997)
  • Inside (Otá, 1998)
  • Spirit of the Roots (Otá, 1999)
  • Bembon (Otá, 2000)
  • Prietos (Otá, 2000)
  • Sentir (Otá, 2002)
  • Ayaguna, with Gustavo Ovalles [de; es; fr] (Otá, 2003)
  • A New Life (Otá, 2003)
  • Pictures of Soul, with Adam Rudolph (Otá/Meta Records, 2004)
  • Aleatoric Efx (Otá, 2004)
  • Mulatos (Otá, 2004)
  • Mulatos Remix (Otá, 2005)
  • Live à FIP (Otá, 2006)
  • Promise, with Paolo Fresu (Otá/Skip[de], 2007)
  • D.O.: A Day Off, with Greg Landau (Otá, 2007)
  • Afreecanos (Otá, 2008)
  • Tales from the Earth A Tale of Rhythm and Ancestry, with Mark Weinstein (Otá, 2009)
  • Across the Divide (Half Note Records, 2009)
  • Simb, with Adam Rudolph (Otá/Meta Records, 2009)
  • Ceremony, with NDR Bigband (Otá, 2010)
  • Calma (Otá, 2011)
  • Alma, with Paolo Fresu (Otá, 2012)
  • Eggun: The Afri-Lectric Experience (Otá, 2013)
  • Senses (Otá, 2014)
  • ile (Otá, 2015)
  • Jog, with de:Joo Kraus and Gustavo Ovalles (Otá, 2016)
  • Eros, with Paolo Fresu (2016)
  • Es:Sensual, with NDR Big Band (Skip/Otá, 2017/2018)
  • Transparent Water, with Seckou Keita (Otá, 2017)
  • Aguas, with Yilian Cañizares (Otá, 2018)
  • An East African Journey (Otá, 2021)
  • SUBA, with Sekou Keita (Otá, 2021)
  • Iroko, with Igana Santana (Selo Sesc, 2023)
  • Food, with Paolo Fresu (Tuk Music, 2023)

References

  1. ^ a b Weinberg, Bob (March 13, 2018). "Jane Bunnett and Omar Sosa trace roots of Cuban music at concerts in Davie and Miami". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Prato, Greg. "Omar Sosa". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Omar Sosa: Biography". Omar Sosa. 2003. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  4. ^ "Omar Sosa". Grammy.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  5. ^ "Omar Sosa". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  6. ^ a b "OmarSosa.com". Omar Sosa. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  7. ^ Margasak, Peter (September 23, 1999). "World Music Festival". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-06-04.