Biography
Omar Sosa is a six-time Grammy-nominated Cuban jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader born on April 10, 1965, in Camagüey, Cuba's largest inland city. At age eight, he began studying percussion and marimba at the music conservatory in Camagüey, later moving to Havana as a teenager to study piano at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Música, where he completed his formal education at the Instituto Superior de Arte. In the 1980s, Sosa founded the band Tributo, recording albums and touring while also working with Cuban vocalist Xiomara Laugart and several Latin jazz bands, including touring in Angola, the Congo, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua during this period.
Sosa's artistic journey took him across continents beginning in 1993 when he moved to Quito, Ecuador, where he immersed himself in the folkloric traditions of Esmeraldas, particularly its distinctive marimba tradition rooted in African heritage. In 1995, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he quickly invigorated the Latin jazz scene with his adventurous writing and percussive style. He later moved to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, before finally settling in Barcelona. His music fuses a wide range of jazz, world music, and electronic elements with his native Afro-Cuban roots to create a fresh and original urban sound, blending the folkloric with the contemporary and the ancestral with the urban.
Throughout his career, Sosa has performed upwards of 100 concerts annually across six continents at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, the Blue Note clubs in New York, Milan, and Tokyo, London's Barbican, and major festivals such as Monterey Jazz, Montreal Jazz, North Sea Jazz, and Montreux Jazz. His recording career began in 1997 with his first solo piano album "Omar Omar" and has continued with over 22 albums as a leader, earning him multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations, including for "Sentir" (2002), "Mulatos" (2005), and "Across The Divide" (2009). He has received visiting artist fellowships at Princeton University and Dartmouth College, and has collaborated with numerous international artists including Paolo Fresu, Seckou Keita, and Adam Rudolph. Sosa has released most of his recordings on his own Otá label and won the 10th Independent Music Awards in January 2011 with the NDR Bigband for the album "Ceremony."
Fun Facts
- Sosa began his musical education studying percussion and marimba at age eight, only taking up piano later as a teenager in Havana.
- He has performed upwards of 100 concerts annually across six continents, appearing at venues ranging from Tokyo's Blue Note to London's Barbican and major museums including the Getty Center and Detroit Institute of Arts.
- During his time in Ecuador in the early 1990s, Sosa immersed himself in the folkloric traditions of Esmeraldas, a northwest coast region with distinctive African heritage and marimba traditions.
- Sosa releases most of his recordings on his own independent label, Otá Records, maintaining creative control over his extensive discography of over 22 albums as a leader.
Musical Connections
Mentors/Influences
- Thelonious Monk - Major influence on uncompromising artistic spirit (Influenced Sosa's approach to jazz improvisation) [Throughout career]
- Chick Corea - Piano influence cited by Sosa (Stylistic influence on Latin jazz piano approach) [Formative years onward]
- Herbie Hancock - Piano influence cited by Sosa (Influenced Sosa's modern jazz approach) [Formative years onward]
- Chucho Valdés - Cuban jazz pianist influence (Major influence on Afro-Cuban jazz style) [Throughout career]
- Irakere - Pioneering Cuban jazz group influence (Influenced Sosa's fusion of Cuban and jazz elements) [Formative years]
- Oscar Peterson - Jazz piano influence (Technical and stylistic influence) [Throughout career]
- Keith Jarrett - Jazz piano influence (Influenced improvisational approach) [Throughout career]
Key Collaborators
- Xiomara Laugart - Cuban vocalist collaboration (Various Latin jazz projects) [1980s-1990s]
- Paolo Fresu - Frequent collaborator (Multiple collaborative projects) [2000s-present]
- Seckou Keita - Collaborative work exploring African roots (Multiple projects) [2000s-present]
- Adam Rudolph - Collaborative projects (Various recordings and performances) [2000s-present]
- Paquito D'Rivera - Cuban saxophone and clarinet master collaboration (Album 'Mulatos') [2005]
- Tim Eriksen - American roots vocalist collaboration (Album 'Across The Divide' recorded at Blue Note Jazz Club NYC) [2009]
- NDR Bigband - North German Radio Bigband collaboration (Album 'Ceremony' - won 10th Independent Music Awards) [2011]
- John Santos - Latin jazz percussionist collaboration (Workshops and performances) [2011]
Connection Network
Discography
Albums
| Title | Release Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Eros | 2016-04-29 | Album |
| Transparent Water | 2017-02-24 | Album |
| Suba | 2021-10-22 | Album |
| Iroko | 2023-01-20 | Album |
| Free Roots | 1997 | Album |
| Transparent Water | 2017-02-24 | Album |
| ALMA | 2012-01-10 | Album |
| Suba | 2021-10-22 | Album |
| Calma: Solo Piano &... | 2011-03-08 | Album |
| Food | 2023-05-19 | Album |
| Alma | 2013-09-30 | Album |
| Alma | 2012-01-10 | Album |
| Omar Sosa's 88 Well-Tuned Drums | 2024-11-01 | Album |
| Ballads | 2005-09-26 | Album |
| An East African Journey | 2021-03-05 | Album |
Top Tracks
- Who Wu (Eros)
- Dary (Transparent Water)
- Sensuousness (Eros)
- Mis Tres Notas (Free Roots)
- Rei's Ray (Suba)
- What Lies Ahead (Eros)
- Alma (ALMA)
- Azadeh (Trio Chemirani invite)
- My Soul, My Spirit (Eros)
- Tama-Tama (Transparent Water)
External Links
Tags: #jazz, #world
References
Heard on WWOZ
Omar Sosa has been played 1 time on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.
| Date | Time | Title | Show | Spotify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2025 | 07:47 | Autumn Flowersfrom Calma | The Morning Setw/ Stuart Hall |