Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Omar Sosa: Aleatoric EFX: Live Solo Concert - Radio Bremen

Omar Sosa: Aleatoric EFX: Live Solo Concert - Radio Bremen

By C. Michael Bailey
August 7, 2004
View read count

Omar Sosa: Aleatoric EFX: Live Solo Concert - Radio Bremen

It may be a bit disingenuous to say that Aleatoric EFX may become the next Köln Concert. Keith Jarrett's 1975 masterpiece could legitimately claim to have given birth to the New Age music genre. By today's standards, the Köln Concert perhaps does not seem so novel. It seems our sensibilities may need to be pushed a little, and Omar Sosa is here to do that. A native of Camaguey, Cuba, Sosa offers a quietly impressionistic vision of Latin-African-Caribbean music to the tornadic forces expressed by fellow countryman Chucho Valdés. Aleatoric EFX is great evidence of this impressionistic vision. It is a collection of original compositions, vignettes with key signatures that Sosa presented to Radio Bremen on November 22, 2003. They have traditional titles like "Impromptu in D Minor" and whimsical titles like "Intense Moon in F# Minor."

The performance, while filled with whimsy, possesses a brooding and thoughtful undercurrent. This music is more tangible in form and less tangible in mood than the famed Jarrett solo concerts. While Jarrett's solo performances are extended ruminations that conform to harmonic and melodic boundaries, Sosa's short pieces are less tethered by time signature and form. They are almost amorphous, filmy and opaque. This music will certainly appeal to the listeners of the earlier Sosa releases and anyone interested in a free vision for the piano.

This disc is only available from Omar Sosa online .

Track Listing

Follow My Shadow; Impromptu In D Minor; Mute Ostinato In C; Pentatonic Research; Dias De Lyawo; Sobre Un Manto En E Minor; Intense Moon In F# Major; Siberian Home; Muevete En D.

Personnel

Omar Sosa

piano

Omar Sosa--Piano, Effects.

Album information

Title: Aleatoric EFX: Live Solo Concert - Radio Bremen | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Ota Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Manhattan Tango
< Previous

Glad to be Back
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.