Omar Sosa talks Joy of Jazz

Based in Barcelona, this veteran musician, who has visited South Africa before, will dispense his own special brand of musical inspiration again when he performs with his band at the Sandton Convention Centre from September 25 to 27.

Sosa is an artist with unconventional spiritual beliefs, who lives a life devoted to educating and entertaining. He reveals his strong spiritual roots, discussing Santero, the Afro-Cuban religion to which he belongs, and how he believes his music is a vessel through which his ancestors communicated.

He says: “The word ‘Santero’ is translated from Lucumí, which is Santería’s liturgical language, and means ‘ancestors’.”

Sosa, born 49 years ago in Camaguey, Cuba, grew up with his parents listening to classical music, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Nat King Cole and traditional Afro-Cuban music. His first instrument, learnt at the age of eight, was the classical marimba (his main instrument) and when he was 16 he started to play the piano, influenced by his favourite composers, Chopin, Mozart, Satie and Stravinsky.

In 1997, Sosa and percussionist John Santos joined forces to create a dynamic duo that enthralls audiences with the dynamics caused by the two of them playing off each other. Sosa’s debut album, released that year, was Omar Omar and, over the ensuing years, music has flowed from this multifaceted performer.

He has since become a global music ambassador, taking his music to all corners of the globe and educating the youth and adults about different rhythms, instruments and music from other countries. Sosa believes in the importance of bringing the melodies of Africa to the forefront of world music – not just the common perceptions that have African musicians playing drums, but rather offering a true homage to the continent’s rhythms and melodies.

Omar Sosa was born in Cuba, lives in Barcelona and is passionate about African music.
Pictures: Supplied

Sosa is constantly pushing himself with new challenges, referring to his need to be close to his soul and to listen to the voice of the ancestors. Every time he listens, he says, they tell him to spread his music – and that is what he adores doing.

“People can live together and share their traditions and love through the power of music,” he says.

Sosa is brimming with excitement at the prospect of performing in Johannesburg. His set will feature popular numbers culled from the more than two-dozen albums he has recorded, trademark sounds that combine Afro-Cuban jazz with hip-hop and a staggeringly diverse palette of styles from Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

His backing quartet for Johannesburg consists of some of music’s hottest Latin jazz musicians. It features Sosa on piano and his regulars: Ernesto Simpson from Cuba on drums, Childo Thomas from Mozambique on electric bass, Leandro Saint-Hill, also from Cuba, on alto sax and classy American tenor saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum.

His concept is to put together musicians who speak the same musical language and who are able to use their Cuban traditions as a springboard for creative freedom. “We explore contemporary interpretations of some of the classic Cuban musical styles the world has come to enjoy.”

For more information go to joyofjazz.co.za