Born in 1965 in Camagüey, Omar began studying percussion and marimba, aged 8, at the music conservatory. As a teenager, he took up piano at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Música in Havana and completed his formal education at the Instituto Superior de Arte. In 1993 Omar moved to Ecuador to immerse himself in the folkloric traditions of Esmeraldas, the northwest coast region whose African heritage includes the distinctive marimba tradition. He relocated to San Francisco, USA, in 1995, and soon invigorated the Latin jazz scene with his adventurous writing and percussive style.
Sosa’s recording career began in 1997 with the release of his first solo piano recording, Omar Omar and has since won many awards, including Afro-Caribbean Jazz Album of the Year Award from the Jazz Journalists Association in NYC and many Latin Grammy nominations. In 2008 Omar received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to present a new Omar Sosa Quintet featuring American roots vocalist Tim Eriksen and his recent album, Aguas, he has recorded with Cuban violinestYilian Cañizares. Omar annually performs upwards of 100 concerts on six continents, Here are the tracks Omar Sosa would absolutly need on his desert Island.
1. ‘No Ordinary Love’ by Sade
This album has accompanied me since the day it came out, in inparticular this track. Every summer in the rare omoemnts that we have time, my wife and I make a road trip to the sound of this tune.
2. 'The Sign and the Seal' by Steve Coleman & the Mystic Rhythm Society with AfroCuba de Matanzas
I remember when this project came out, featuring friends of mine,Yosvany Terry and Josh Jones, it was one of those albums that made you feel that something special had happened. In my opinion it was a revolutionary album that approached our Afro-Cuban tradition in a respectful and authentic way. The result was a completely fresh and innovative sound. I always take it with me, not because of one track, but the whole album captivates me.....
3. Inventions & Dimensions (album) by Herbie Hancock
Wow! For me, this is the must-have album if you like Herbie Hancock, for its authentic and totally natural sound as well as its freshness. Here Herbie and his band delve into Latin Jazz in a majestic way.
4. 'Evidence' by Thelonious Monk
He is my hero, my guide, my philsospher. To listen to him and then seeing him in videos changed my perception of music and the way I listened to it. He taught me that what you play is what you play...why change a supposedly bum note? As he said, there are no wrong notes, if you made a mistake that is what is left because it’s what was played!
5. 'Kind of Blue' by Miles Davis
For Jazz lovers this is without out doubt the signature album. This masterpiece is a masterclass in harmony and composition aswell as a sublime expression of subtlety, peace and love. It’s impossible to choose one track because the entire album is a whole piece, in which each track is a majestic element.
6. 'Gymnopédie 1' by Erik Satie
This track has accompanied me for a long period of time in moments of sadness and happiness. I’ve always very very close to his aesthetic musical discourse.
7. 'Nocturne, Opus 9, No 2' by Federic Chopin
I spent a whole year listening only to Nocturne, to the point where my ex-wife said I should go to a phsycologist because this wans’t normal behaviour. But I found such peace in listening to these pieces.
8. Talking Timbuktu by Ali Farka Touré with Ry Cooder
This is sublime music that goes direct to the heart and lifts the soul. You can listen to this album in whatever mood you are in and it offers light.
9. 'Misa Negra' by Irakere
This band changed the course of contemporary Cuban music history. And this piece especially made me visualize ad listen to the type of sound that I’d follow. And essential for anyone who loves or wants to understand contemporary Cuban music.
Omar Sosa will be performing with Yilian Cañizares at The Barbican tomorrow, Friday 23rd, as part of Jazz Cubano https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/jazz-cubano-showcase
