Fire Dance

Comments (0) By Derek Beres Tuesday, Apr 16 2002

Fusing traditional Gnawa ritual and Yoruba linguistics with chaotic ivory and free verse on his eighth album in the past half-decade, Chilean-born pianist and vocalist Omar Sosa constructs bridges between Morocco, Cuba, and America—mercurial arpeggios, scattered across silent landscapes.

Details

Omar Sosa
Sentir
Ot�

More About

Omar Sosa

On Sentir, Sosa's neo-beatnik scats match verse-for-note his acoustic piano ramblings, which walk among cumacos and maracas. A Moroccan violin floats stealthily above mallet-backdropped bata drums; congas hit high and low within Gnawa prayers; repetitive chants modernize a cross-continental version of qawwali conceptualism. Off-the-cuff astrology burrows through metaphor, painting orgasmic scenes of interplanetary visitation.

Void of egotism and profoundly revelatory, Sentir(its title derived from a verb meaning "to feel") powerfully explores spiritual assessment within a detached society. As western culture clings to mere fragments of eastern philosophy—posh yoga lounges, jade Buddhas priced with platinum credit—Sosa reminds us a scream of joy and one of suffering are both necessary in understanding ourselves as sentient beings. His melodies, silences, and shaman rhythms are intangible portals: coursing through chronological bloodlines, dancing dark Sufic spins around fires.