U.S. Spring Tour 2003; David Murray Collaboration

Back to Posts

U.S. Spring Tour 2003; David Murray Collaboration

Following the release March 12 of his latest recording, “Sentir”, Omar Sosa begins an eight-city tourof the western U.S. with a special concert at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on Saturday, April 6:

Saturday, April 6
8 PM, $15.00/$12.00 members
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts FORUM
701 Mission at 3rd Street, San Francisco
For advance tickets call 415-978-2787 or visit www.yerbabuenaarts.org

Joining Omar for the first time in the U.S. will be vocalist Martha Galarraga from Cuba and percussionist Gustavo Ovalles from Venezuela, both members of Omar’s regular touring and recording ensemble. Ms. Galarraga is a leading figure in the performance of Yoruban song and dance associated with Santeria, the spiritual practice of Cuba originating in West Africa. Mr. Ovalles brings with him a number of percussion instruments native to Venezuela, including the “culoepuya” and quitiplas. Hosted by journalist and KCSM music director, Chuy Varela, the concert will begin with a discussion/demonstration of the second movement of Omar’s work-under-construction for orchestra, entitled “From Our Mother”. The piece is a co-commission of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Oakland East Bay Symphony under the direction of Michael Morgan, and has been made possible through a Wattis Artist Residency at YBCA, with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation. “From Our Mother” will receive its premiere by the Oakland East Bay Symphony at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland on Friday, January 24, 2003.

Prior to their arrival in the U.S., Omar, Martha and Gustavo will join saxophonist David Murray for a special concert at the Musee Dapper in Paris on Wednesday, April 3, entitled “Cuba, the Sanctuary of Rhythms”. Also featured will be Ishmael Reed, poetry; Hamid Drake, drums; and Miguel Rios Puntilla and Xavier Campos, bata drums. Tickets for this event are available at FNAC, Musee Dapper (01 45 00 01 50), or visit www.3dfamily.org.

April/May 2002 U.S. tour schedule for the Omar Sosa Septet:

April 11 Unity Church, San Luis Obispo, CA
April 13 On The Boards, Seattle, WA (Earshot Jazz)
April 14 Richard’s On Richards, Vancouver, BC (Coastal Jazz & Blues Society)
April 16 Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
April 17 Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
April 18 Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
April 19 Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
April 20 Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
April 21 Jazz Bakery, Los Angeles, CA
April 26 OneWorld Theatre, Austin, TX
April 27 Houston International Festival, Houston, TX
April 29 Outpost, Albuquerque, NM
May 3Hidden Barn Studio (benefit concert), Big Sur, CA (Omar Sosa Quartet)
May 4SF JAZZ presents at the Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, CA
(with the Anthony Brown Asian American Orchestra)
May 5Big Sur Jazzfest, Big Sur, CA

For details on tickets and locations of these shows, please visit www.melodia.com.

Omar’s new CD, “Sentir”, has been receiving widespread critical acclaim. Selecting it as Album of the Week (February 15), Ben Ratliff, jazz critic for the New York Times, writes that Omar “is a versatile pianist with a big sound, especially strong in the extreme registers, and his fast fingers dig into montunos and Herbie Hancock jazz chords”. In The Washington Post (March 13), Fernando Gonzalez writes that Omar’s “is a music in which concepts of time (conveyed in various meters), grooves, instruments and textures from disparate traditions overlap, blend and collide. The results are both familiar and fresh – and always illuminating”.

Share this post

Back to Posts