Omar Sosa

Born in Camagüey in 1965, Omar Sosa trained in Cuba at his city’s conservatory, the Escuela Nacional de Música and Havana’s Instituto Superior de Arte, after beginning with percussion and marimba before turning to the piano. Later settling in Quito in the early 1990s, then passing through Palma de Mallorca, San Francisco and Barcelona, Sosa developed a transnational career that traverses Latin Jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms, fusion and various African traditions. His music combines pianistic playing, improvisation, Caribbean pulsations, Afro-Cuban spirituality and openings toward funk, soul, classical music, or electronic textures. From albums such as Omar Omar (1997), Bembón (2000), Prietos (2001) and Sentir (2002), Omar Sosa has established a writing that is increasingly open to intercultural dialogues, notably with musicians linked to African, Mediterranean and jazz scenes. He performs both solo and in duo or with larger outfits, from trio to big band, as on Ceremony (2010) with the NDR Bigband. Notable projects also include Mulatos (2004), Eggūn: The Afri-Lectric Experience (2013), Transparent Water with Seckou Keita (2017), An East African Journey (2021) and Manos with Marialy Pacheco (2022).