Omar Sosa’s 88 Well-Tuned Drums

In order to fully appreciate the magnitude of Sosa’s artistry, it is important to know the cultural and musical environment that nurtured it.  Born on April 10, 1965 in Camagũey, Cuba, conservatory-trained Sosa grew up in a musical culture where folkloric, classical and jazz music co-existed, but not on equal terms.  Pianistically, Sosa is the latest in a long line of incredible Cuban pianists, from Bebo and Chucho Valdés, to Emiliano Salvador and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, to name a very select few.  But unlike those aforementioned masters, who primarily play Latin jazz extensions of the mambo, cha-cha rumba and the danzón, Sosa set forth to adapt those Afro-Cuban genres to the far-flung African-derived music, dances and instruments of the Black Diaspora, dispersed throughout the infamous Middle Passage, creating a true “world music” with black, brown and beige tinges.

Eugene Holley, Jr. - Contributor, DownBeat

HAVANA, CUBA: Come welcome Omar Sosa to Vienna Live!