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Omar Sosa
Fabrizio Cirulli/Courtesy of the artist
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Fabrizio Cirulli/Courtesy of the artist
The unorthodox pianist Omar Sosa lives in a world of dynamic opposites. For those who go to his artist web page on a streaming service, you may discover that his hottest songs are moody, managed and contemplative — stylistically nearly giving off a New Age vibe. This might replicate Sosa’s deep religious life.
Alternatively, for those who see him in live performance, you’ll probably end up in the course of a rambunctious celebration, a spontaneous musical occasion on the precipice of chaos. (In his youthful days, he would possibly soar on the piano bench and play along with his ft.)
An improviser within the purest sense of the phrase, he’ll probably shoo away any sheet music put in entrance of him. But he can write a piece for a symphony orchestra and be scouted out by fashionable classical large John Adams. He pridefully declares himself a jazz musician but additionally boasts not realizing any requirements. He’s a piano man who prefers to not be referred to as that, because the title of a documentary movie about him, Omar Sosa’s 88 Properly-Tuned Drums, makes clear.
These narratives have at all times made him troublesome to categorise, however these are additionally his best strengths as an artist. A Sosa live performance can evoke a myriad of moods. There may very well be Arabic vibes, American hip-hop and swing, Malian blues and, after all, fragments of Cuban dances present in his homeland, organized in his trademark off-kilter means.
On this episode, we attempt to perceive Sosa’s deeply indirect but profound creative sensibility. What we discovered is that his creative selections are knowledgeable by his deep spirituality. He tells a narrative he not often shares, a part of his Santería initiation ceremony, which he says makes him the deeply intuitive and unpredictable artist he’s as we speak. We uncover that Omar Sosa is Elegguá, the kid trickster deity worshiped in his historic Cuban and African religion.
Set Record:
All songs composed by Omar Sosa.
- “Eleggua within the Street – dwell” (from the album Ayaguna)
- “Angustia with Tumbao” (from the album Omar Omar)
- “Kharit” (from the album Suba by Omar Sosa & Seckou Keita)
- “Moradía de Babalú” (from the album Iroko by Omar Sosa & Tiganá Santana)
- “Rojo Changó” (from the album Sentir)
- “Medley of Eleggua / Dame Un Tiempo” (from the album Dame Un Tiempo: Stay in Bremen 2000)
Credit: Simon Rentner, author and producer; Christian McBride, host; Sarah Geledi and Trevor Smith, producers; Ron Scalzo, episode combine; Nikki Birch and Mitra Arthur, video producers; Steven A. Williams, govt producer; Suraya Mohamed, govt producer of NPR Music; Keith Jenkins, vp of visuals and music technique at NPR.
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