Omar Sosa

Multi-instrumentalist Omar Sosa was born on April 10, 1965, in Camaguey, Cuba. At the age of five, Sosa began studying music at the Escuela Provincial de Musica in Camaguey, which led to his intense study of drums and percussion at two other schools during the late '70s/early '80s: Cuba's Escuela Nacional de Musica and Instituto Superior de Arte. Sosa then began to teach percussion to children before he created the group Tributo in 1986, for which Sosa penned and oversaw the material for two of their albums, and toured. This was followed up by Sosa's work with Cuban vocalist Vicente Feliú (1988's Arteporética), the group XL Talla Extra with Cuban vocalist Xiomara Laugart, the jazz fusion outfit Entrenoz, the Afro-Ecuadorian band Koral y Esmeralda, and playing keyboards in the band Koan Fussion. And in the late '90s, Sosa began issuing solo albums: the 1996 solo piano showcase Omar Omar, 1997's ensemble-based Free Roots, 1998's Inside, 1999's Spirit of Roots and Bembon, and 2000's Prietos. In addition, Sosa has also produced recordings for Ricardo Williams, Leo Mass, and Vino y Miel. Two years later, Sosa issued the eccentric jazz album Sentir. It was later nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album in fall 2002.