By Andrew Poretz***Cuban composer and pianist Omar Sosa is a unique musical artist with a veritable Stone Soup approach to jazz: he kept adding ingredients to his already tasty creation to make it more and more delicious. So,with a base of Afro-Cuban rhythms, he mixed in traditional and Latin jazz, world music and electronic music, including synth and live looping, all played with unbridled joy and a love for his audience that is quite palpable.
Sosa hit the Birdland stage dressed in a long white robe adorned with red embroidery, a white skullcap and a “piano” scarf. This regalia, combined with a greyish goatee and glasses, gave him the appearance of an ethereal, spiritual wizard, here to impart musical wisdom.
The star was accompanied by the top-notch trio of Sheldon Brown (saxophones), Ernesto Mazar Kindelán (“baby” electric upright bass) and Josh Jones (percussionist). The set’s numbers were from the soundtrack album of his new documentary, Omar Sosa’s 88 Well-Tuned Drums, directed by Soren Sorensen.
From the outset, on “Bola” was quite an interesting and beautiful performance. In addition to Birdland’s grand piano, Sosa played a keyboard, with a keyboard synthesizer between the two instruments. 
He layers his music. He might start by creating a loop, much like Ed Sheeran does, or utilize a track he has on his tablet or phone, making him nearly a one-man band and a live recording studio.
His second piece, “D2 de Africa,” could have passed for a movie score. There was great tension in his Sosa’s piano playing, with explosive clarinet runs that added a feeling of a chase scene. The groove was at first insistent, then relenting, as if the characters in this imaginary film made it. These musicians read each other quite well, creating a cohesive quartet. “Light in the Sky” utilized a prerecorded rap that the quartet played to. Watching Sosa perform was as much a delight as it was to hear. His energy is boundless, his joy contagious. His hands are blazingly fast and accurate, and his on-the-spot loops give him the equivalent of an extra pair. In another number, Sosa got up from the piano to dance and work up the crowd before performing a more traditional Cuban piece. Late in the set, while playing the most extraordinary rhythms, he seemed to find one for the first time, and his face lit up with childlike glee.
This performance was was this writer’s first experience of Sosa and his music. It will most definitely not be the last.
Top photo: RR Jones
Bottom photo: Andrew Poretz
