Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Omar Sosa Residency at SFJAZZ

Omar Sosa Residency at SFJAZZ

View Slideshow

By Harry S. Pariser
May 8, 2017
View read count

Omar Sosa Residency
SFJAZZ
Spring Season
San Francisco, CA
April 21-23, 2017

"You don't really listen to an Omar Sosa concert so much as experience it. The Cuban-born pianist's overall demeanor exudes a sense of calm and deep reflection, while a spiritual connection to music and his ancestors comes through in his piano playing." —NPR Music

At the commencement of each evening of his four-night residency at SFJAZZ, Omar Sosa, clad entirely in his trademark white, gown-like attire with flat-topped white cap, entered the stage holding a lighted white candle which he placed on his piano. Then, with his left hand, he serenely fingered his Yamaha Motif XF8 while playing a Yamaha CFX Concert Grand piano with his right. A Fender Rhodes was under the Motif, while an 88A Micro Korg was mounted in the center, as was a GoPro video camera.

Sosa is no stranger to San Francisco, where SFJAZZ has its concert hall. A native of Camaguey, Cuba, Sosa first arrived in the city in 1995 and put up roots before moving to Barcelona, Spain in 1999. The first two evenings featured his Bay Area collaborator

John Santos

percussion
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">John Santos, as well as a guest appearance on the second evening by trombonist and recording engineer

Jeff Cressman

trombone

" data-original-title="" title="">Jeff Cressman. Santos, in addition to being a bandleader (Orquesta Batachanga, Machete Ensemble, John Santos Quartet), is also a music educator and board member at SFJAZZ.

Appropriately, given his espousal of the Afro-Cuban and Afro-Puerto Rican religion Santer��a, Sosa began with an invocation to Elegua, the Orisha of the roads and crossroads, whose spirit must be invoked at the commencement of a ceremony or ritual. As Santos intoned in Yoruba and Congo, Sosa clapped his hands. Mozambique native

Childo Tomas

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Childo Tomas entered with a twirling tube and then thumbed a pickup-equipped kalimba (mbira, thumb piano), which he held sideways as he played.

The two other members of Quarteto AfroCubano, drummer

Ernesto Simpson

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Ernesto Simpson and saxophonist/flautist

Leandro Saint-Hill

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Leandro Saint-Hill, then entered and took their places; the beat swerved towards funk, with Sosa standing and taking a bow at the end. As the keyboardist's "Mi Conga" commenced, Sosa chanted, while Simpson turned to mallets and then sticks before Saint-Hill pierced the mix with some lovely flute playing. The band's chants of "cha cha cha," with its dynamic rhythms, drove two women out of their seats situated directly above and to the rear of the ensemble, dancing in tandem. Saint-Hill then turned back to his flute. The audience joined in, clapping hands.

Next up was Sosa's atmospheric "Iyawo," which featured Saint-Hill on evocative soprano saxophone. Santos moved forward on the stage with an intriguing shaman-like staff which produced shimmers of sound, empowered by its attached cymbals. The collaboration went on in a similar vein, through "My Three Notes," "A Love Lost," "Sad Meeting" and, finally, "Old Afro a Baba," before a standing ovation brought Santos and Simpson back for a duet on "Muevete en D."

The next night saw Sosa again bring his white candle, place it on the piano and stand to and play his synthesizer and piano. It was the beginning of a night with the very special JOG Trio. The group features German trumpeter (and rapper)

Joo Kraus

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Joo Kraus and well-known percussionist

Mino Cinelu

percussion
b.1957

" data-original-title="" title="">Mino Cinelu. Whereas Kraus played on Sosa's commissioned CD Eggun (Ota Records, 2012) (a tribute to

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis' classic 1959 Columbia album A Kind of Blue), the Martinique-born Cinelu has played with both Davis and

Weather Report

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Weather Report, as well as

Pat Metheny

guitar
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Pat Metheny,

Christian McBride

bass
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Christian McBride,

Geri Allen

piano
1957 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Geri Allen,

Sting

bass, electric
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Sting, World Trio,

Kenny Barron

piano
b.1943

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Barron and many others.

In addition to percussion classics, such as mounted African djembe, Cinelu held forth on a Zildjan Constantinople cymbal (an instrument renowned for its purity of tone), the Roland SPD-SX (a mounted sampling pad), and a Roland HPD-20 (a digital hand percussion instrument)—both of which he employed to prodigious effect.

The evening featured two sets. The first offered sublime tonal flavors which brought the members' Miles Davis connections to mind. Cinelu soloed on triangle and held the djembe; Sosa reached inside his piano to whisk the strings; and Kraus added effects to his trumpet. Cinelu paid tribute in a chant-song to the "spirit of the drum," sitting atop his caj��n and riffing with Sosa. The vibrant mix came to a frothy climax, with Sosa and the other musicians shaking hands.

Following an intermission, special guest saxophonist

Yosvany Terry

saxophone

" data-original-title="" title="">Yosvany Terry joined the ensemble. Shaking his white-beaded cheker��, an instrument he learned at the feet of his father Eladio "Don Pancho" Terry Gonzales (a violinist and master of the cheker��), Terry dramatically stepped down from the theater's upper stairs—playing his way past enthused and enraptured audience members as he made his way to the stage. After his lustrous solo, the band moved into "Alma," the title track to Sosa's 2012 CD of the same name. Now residing in Harlem but born and raised, like Sosa (and Saint-Hill and Simpson), in Camaguey, Cuba, Terry's presence served to immediately energize the ensemble, taking the sound to a new level. Cinelu joined the mix, his left hand directly tapping his snare drum's skin while his right held a stick. Taking to his feet, he played his Roland, adding an electric feel to the mix, while Terry soloed on soprano.

"Chonguica" offered Kraus on muted trumpet and more sweet soprano from Terry, while "Light in the Sky" again featured Cinelu on caj��n and his Roland pad and drum. "Para Ella" and "Angustiado" were also featured. When Sosa again reached inside his piano to play the strings directly, Cinelu played the grooves lining the theater's walls. "1993" rounded out the set.

Solid appreciation from the crowd brought them back for "Cha Cha du Nord," which offered more cheker�� from Terry, interacting with Sosa's stellar piano work. And special guest trombonist Cressman—who, as Sosa told the audience, had enthusiastically welcomed Sosa back when the pianist first arrived in San Francisco—joined the band. Cinelu again sat atop his caj��n and played passionately, while Terry contributed some exuberant tenor.

Sunday, the final night of Sosa's residency, brought the US premiere of the

GFS trio

" data-original-title="" title="">GFS trio: Sosa; Sardinian-born trumpeter

Paolo Fresu

trumpet
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">Paolo Fresu, who is famous in Europe but less so to American audiences; and renowned Mumbai (Bombay)-born percussionist

Trilok Gurtu

tablas
b.1951

" data-original-title="" title="">Trilok Gurtu, known for his work with

Oregon

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Oregon,

John McLaughlin

guitar
b.1942

" data-original-title="" title="">John McLaughlin,

Don Cherry

trumpet
1936 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Don Cherry and

John Tchicai

saxophone
1936 - 2012

" data-original-title="" title="">John Tchicai, among many others.

A synthesized drone, which brought to mind the tamboura—the instrument which anchors the sound in Indian classical music—kicked off Gurtu's "Monk-E Desh." Fresu faced Sosa, playing his trumpet with one knee perched on a chair, and then switched to flugelhorn, the trumpet alternative used by Miles Davis on 1960's Sketches of Spain and 1957's Miles Ahead. For Sosa's "Toridanzon," the pianist pumped out a Latin rhythm with his feet, singing into the mike and motioning to the audience to click their fingers, while Gurtu held forth on tabla and Fresu offered bold and brash flugelhorn. For Fresu's "S'Inguldu" (also from Alma), Gurtu donned wristbands resembling watches and held forth on the caj��n. Sosa played the strings inside his piano and then sang, bringing forth some nonsense syllables countered by Gurtu's super-fast percussion. A Konnakol (Carnactic Indian vocal percussion) battle ensued. Gurtu brought an amazing array of gear to the set (including a mounted djembe, reflecting the African influences he has incorporated into his percussion mix), and a highlight was when he played a ten-liter metal bucket with water inside, using his stick to lower the tone.

The rest of the set followed in a similar vein with Gurtu's "Balatho, Fresu's "Nenia," Gurtu's "Pathri" and, finally, Sosa's "Angustia," as Sosa, clad in his white garb, stood in front of the enthused audience waving his arms.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Glenn Zaleski Trio at Chris' Jazz Ca...
< Previous

Golan/Al Joulan Vol. 2
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.