Omar Sosa: Promise

Rating: ★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Molla Sylla (v)
Julio Barreto (d)
Paolo Fresu (t, flhn)
Childo Thomas (b)
Leandro Saint-Hill (as, ss, fl cl, v)
Omar Sosa (p, ky, prog, elec)

Label:

Ota

October/2014

Catalogue Number:

SKP 9068-2

RecordDate:

2006

This live group album follows the recent solo piano studio set, Senses, and underlines Sosa's idiomatic range in no uncertain terms. Those who have followed his prolific output over the last decade will recognise the mixture of core elements that has practically become a personal patent: African, latin and Afro-latin rhythms, finely woven percussive threads and myriad timbres produced by skilled band members, most of whom are multi-instrumentalists. With Italian trumpet virtuoso Paolo Fresu and the brilliant Senegalese vocalistpercussionist Mola Sylla taking prominent roles, there are flashes of inspiration aplenty. But that is partly the problem. The highpoints are the solo moments rather than the compositions, which lack the strong narrative drive that made albums such as Spirit Of The Roots vital offerings. To a certain extent, Sosa is caught between two stools here: he does not quite convey the billowing, baroque energy of the aforementioned work, or recapture the very produced, sculpted ‘audio design’ sensibilities of Mulatos, another highlight of his discography. This is a performance with peaks and troughs then, a release that falls short of the Sosa's previous high standards all the while maintaining a degree of artistic integrity.

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