Omar Sosa (born April 10, 1965) is a jazz pianist from Cuba.[1]
Omar Sosa | |
|---|---|
 Omar Sosa in concert | |
| Background information | |
| Born | April 10, 1965 Camagüey, Cuba |
| Genres | Afro-Cuban jazz, Latin jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, Rhodes piano, marimba |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | omarsosa |
Biography
editA 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
edit- 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 (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
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g Prato, Greg. "Omar Sosa". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Omar Sosa: Biography". Omar Sosa. 2003. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
- ^ "Omar Sosa". Grammy.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- ^ "Omar Sosa". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
- ^ a b "OmarSosa.com". Omar Sosa. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
- ^ Margasak, Peter (September 23, 1999). "World Music Festival". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
External links
edit- Official website
- Melodia biography Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine