Shaman Me, Shaman You: Omar Sosa Puts a Spell on Us All

June 7, 9:11 PMSF Music ExaminerDerk Richardson

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the SF Music Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Photo by Yann Aker

When you think of musical shamans, who comes to mind? Jimi Hendrix ("Voodoo Chile")? Mick Jagger ("Pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name")? Cecil Taylor (getting up from his trance-inducing piano to dance and gutturally intone)?

A couple of years ago I took an old friend from high school, whose musical tastes are indelibly anchored in the Beatles (and that's not a criticism), to see pianist Omar Sosa at Yoshi's in Oakland. I'm not sure what word to use to describe his reaction. Mesmerized works. Sort of. Enthused, no doubt. Inspired, definitely. Transformed, I suspect.

I don't know if Sosa's ecstatic performance has crept into Tony's cartoon and animation work, but I know I'll never forget his breathless gushing at the end of the set and his need to go communicate his fullness to the now 43-year-old Cuban-born pianist/composer/vocalist. Tony had definitely fallen under a spell, and I wasn't surprised.

Sosa lived in the Bay Area for some time in the late 1990s, establishing creative relationships with John Santos and others, and he has recorded for the Oakland-based Ota Records label ever since. His latest CD is Afreecanos, a riveting and typically eclectic set of original compositions that unite countryside with city, Cuba with Africa, folkloric traditions with modern jazz. Musicians from Cuba, Mozambique, Senegal, Mali, Brazil, Guinea, Morocco, France and the U.S. contribute to this elaborate tapestry, which reflects both Sosa's globe-trotting ways and the ephemeral wizardry that has won him Grammy nominations, a Lifetime Achievement award from the Smithsonian, a BBC Radio 3 award and commissions galore.

Sosa has assembled an Afreecanos Quintet -- with drummer Julio Baretto, electric bassist Childo Tomas, flutist Leandro Saint-Hill and vocalist Mola Sylla -- to tour his newest music. His stay in the Bay Area is brief, wrapping up with a Sunday afternoon concert at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival. If your Sunday is need of a little magic, let Sosa transport you with his meta-world-music. 

In any case, check out the Sosa discography for shamanism you can use.