|
Omar Sosa at Zankel Hall at Carnegie
Jazz has always been spiritual, related to worship, singing and praying. Shared history and the drums connect jazz with the Caribbean and Africa. The musicians on this JazzSet gather all those qualities into one great concert.
|
On Sept. 12, 2003, Omar Sosa and his group drew an audience that filled every seat in New York's new Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall. Sosa's band members come from Cuba, Venezuela, Morocco and the United States. The musicians find their common strengths and also respect each other's uniqueness as soloists. Sosa says the condition for everyone is that you must play what you feel.
|
Omar Sosa was born and raised in Camaguey, Cuba, in the mid-1960s. He studied classical percussion for 15 years in his home city and in Havana. His percussion background explains his amazing touch on piano. Thelonious Monk is his guru; Omar named his first son "Lonious." After residing in Ecuador and San Francisco, among other places, Omar Sosa now lives in Barcelona.
A host of fascinating instruments are onstage, and a piano with a candle on it for Sosa. His musicians enter one at a time -- percussionists first, to invoke the spirits and ancestors; then bass, sax and vocalists; and finally, the pianist. Sosa is dressed, as always, in pure white. With all the players improvising in their musical languages from traditional Caribbean to hip hop, the audience at Zankel Hall becomes part of the show, filling spaces in the music. MC Brutha Los raps an anti-war message that is the dramatic climax of the concert.
The live-to-stereo music mix by Duke Markos is wonderful.
|
