Omar Sosa  | |
|---|---|
![]() Omar Sosa in concert  | |
| Background information | |
| Born | April 10, 1965 Camagüey, Cuba  | 
| Genres | Afro-Cuban jazz, Latin jazz | 
| Occupation(s) | Musician | 
| Instrument(s) | Piano, Rhodes piano, marimba | 
| Years active | 1995–present | 
| Website | omarsosa | 
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
- 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
- 1 2 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.
 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Prato, Greg. "Omar Sosa". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
 - ↑ "Omar Sosa: Biography". Omar Sosa. 2003. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
 - ↑ "Omar Sosa". Grammy.com. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
 - ↑ "Omar Sosa". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
 - 1 2 "OmarSosa.com". Omar Sosa. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
 - ↑ Margasak, Peter (September 23, 1999). "World Music Festival". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
 
