KCSM Community Stations | San Mateo, California

Omar Sosa (2019)
Visit Website	Pianist, composer and bandleader Omar Sosa studied marimba and then piano at the Escuela National de Musica in his native Cuba. In 1993, he moved to Quito, Ecuador, in order to study the Afro-Ecuadoran marimba tradition of Esmeraldas. Two years later, Omar moved here to San Francisco, where he became totally immersed in our Latin Jazz scene, thereby developing a long-standing friendship with John Santos. While here, he made a series of excellent recordings with producer Greg Landau, and also worked on some film scores. But in 1999 he was off again, this time to Barcelona, Spain. Along the way, Omar has received four Grammy and three Latin Grammy nominations. Omar's limitless musical curiosity has led to a nearly world-wide reach of collaborators: North-African percussionists, spoken-word and Hip-Hop artists, classical projects, and collaborations with Peruvian singer Susana Baca, Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, and Brazilian conductor and cellist Jacques Morelenbaum. Omar is both political and spiritual, and describes his music as an expression of humanism and Santería.

Omar Sosa (2019)

Visit Website

Pianist, composer and bandleader Omar Sosa studied marimba and then piano at the Escuela National de Musica in his native Cuba. In 1993, he moved to Quito, Ecuador, in order to study the Afro-Ecuadoran marimba tradition of Esmeraldas.

Two years later, Omar moved here to San Francisco, where he became totally immersed in our Latin Jazz scene, thereby developing a long-standing friendship with John Santos. While here, he made a series of excellent recordings with producer Greg Landau, and also worked on some film scores. But in 1999 he was off again, this time to Barcelona, Spain.

Along the way, Omar has received four Grammy and three Latin Grammy nominations.

Omar's limitless musical curiosity has led to a nearly world-wide reach of collaborators: North-African percussionists, spoken-word and Hip-Hop artists, classical projects, and collaborations with Peruvian singer Susana Baca, Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, and Brazilian conductor and cellist Jacques Morelenbaum.

Omar is both political and spiritual, and describes his music as an expression of humanism and Santería.

Pick	Artist	Album	Song	Label
# 1	Herbie Hancock	Inventions and Dimensions	Jack Rabbit	Blue Note
# 2	Weather Report	Heavy Weather	Birdland	Columbia
# 3	Thelonious Monk and Milt Jackson	Milt Jackson: Wizard of the Vibes	Evidence	Blue Note
# 4	Omar Sosa	Badzimo	Nubia	not commercially available
# 5	Pat Metheny	First Circle	The First Circle	ECM
# 6	Andrew Hill	Black Fire	Black Fire	Blue Note
# 7	Joe Zawinul and the Zawinul Syndicate	75	Café Andalusia	Heads Up

Book	"A [blank] book with no words. If you go to a desert island, your experience is a book by itself—you'd better write this book, because what you're going to live is already a book, so take advantage … and maybe other people will read your experience."

Luxury Item	Water!