Ilé Omar Sosa

• 1 A Love Lost 05:32
• 2 Momento I 02:30
• 3 4U 04:00
• 4 Mentiras Enemigas 04:56
• 5 Momento II 04:05
• 6 D Vuelta 03:18
• 7 Old Afro A Baba 07:40
• 8 Dame La Luz 05:25
• 9 Momento III 03:11
• 10 Sad Meeting 05:44
• 11 Momento IV 03:20
• 12 La Tarde 04:25
• 13 Mi Conga 05:52
• 14 A Love Lost Reprise 04:17
• Total Runtime 01:04:15

Info for Ilé

'Ilé' bedeutet in der kubanischen Lucumi Tradition, die der westafrikanischen Yoruba Lehre entlehnt ist, Heimat, Erde, und genau von dieser Heimat lässt sich Omar Sosa für sein neuestes Werk inspirieren. Dabei bilden der in London lebende Schlagzeuger Ernesto Sampson, den Sosa aus frühesten Kindertagen in Kuba kennt, Alt Saxofonist Leandro Saint Hill aus Kuba / z. Zt. Hamburg, und sein langjähriger musikalischer Gefährte, der Bassist Childo Tomas aus Mozambique den Nukleus der gemeinsamen Produktion 'Ilé'. Alle Vier nutzen ihre gemeinsame musikalische Sprache aus kubanischen und afrikanischen Traditionen als Ausgangspunkt ihrer kreativen Freiheiten. Live werden sie als Afro Cuban Quartet von Omar Sosa zu sehen sein.

Ergänzt wird das Line – up dabei sowohl um kubanische Musiker wie den Perkussionisten Pedro Martinez, den Saxofonisten Yosvany Terry und den Patriarchen des Terry Clans, Maestro Eladio Don Pancho Terry, Chekere. Ganz andere Klangfarben werden durch den Spoken Word Künstler Kokayi und Flamenco Vokalist Jose 'El Salao' Martin beigesteuert, wobei letzterer den sehr präsenten Einfluss von Omar Sosa’s aktueller Heimat Barcelona dokumentiert.

'Ilé' offeriert zeitgenössische Interpretationen einiger klassischer kubanischer Musikstile, darüber hinaus werden in vier Übergängen traditionelle Musiksamples mit improvisierten Piano und Saxophonpassagen gemischt. Erstmals nimmt der Anteil der auf dem elektrischen Fender Rhodes Piano gespielten Musik bei Omar Sosa einen gleichwertigen Anteil zu den auf dem akustischen Flügel gespielten Passagen ein.

„Flamenco und afro-kubanische Rhythmen, Afropop, Rap, Jazz und verträumte Singer-Songwriter-Balladen prägen den musikalischen Kosmos des Pianisten Omar Sosa.“ (Audio)

Omar Sosa, vocals, grand piano, Fender Rhodes piano, programming
Leandro Saint-Hill, vocals, flute, clarinet, soprano and alto saxophone
Childo Tomas, vocals, electric bass, kalimba
Ernesto Simpson, vocals, drums, kalimba

Omar Sosa
Composer-pianist-bandleader Omar Sosa was born in 1965 in Camagüey, Cuba's largest inland city. At age eight, Omar began studying percussion and marimba at the music conservatory in Camagüey; in Havana, as a teenager, he took up piano at the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Música, and completed his formal education at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. Among his influences, Omar cites traditional Afro-Cuban music, European classical composers (including Chopin, Bartok, and Satie), Monk, Coltrane, Parker, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Chucho Valdés, and the pioneering Cuban jazz group Irakere. Moving in 1993 to Ecuador, Omar immersed himself in the folkloric traditions of Esmeraldas, the northwest coast region whose African heritage includes the distinctive marimba tradition. He relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1995, and soon invigorated the Latin jazz scene with his adventurous writing and percussive style.

Annually performing upwards of 100 concerts on six continents, Omar has appeared in venues as diverse as the Blue Note (New York, Milan, and Tokyo), Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center, the Getty Center, London's Barbican and Queen Elizabeth Hall, Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall, and Berlin's Haus der Kulturen der Welt; festivals including Monterey Jazz, JVC Jazz, Montreal Jazz, Marciac Jazz, North Sea Jazz, Helsinki, Grenoble Jazz, Montreux Jazz, Naples Jazz, Ravenna Jazz, Roma Jazz, Spoletto, WOMAD, and Cape Town International Jazz; and universities on several continents, including a visiting artist fellowship at Princeton University in March 2008, and a visiting artist residency at Dartmouth College in April 2008. Omar will return to Dartmouth College for a second artist residency in February 2011.

Mr. Sosa received a lifetime achievement award from the Smithsonian Associates in Washington, DC in 2003 for his contribution to the development of Latin jazz in the United States. He has received two nominations from the BBC Radio 3 World Music Awards, in 2004 and 2006, both in the 'Americas' category. In 2003 Omar Sosa received the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Album of the Year Award from the Jazz Journalists Association in NYC for his recording Sentir; and a nomination from the Jazz Journalists Association for Latin Jazz Album of the Year in 2005 for his recording Mulatos. More info at www.omarsosa.com

Booklet for Ilé