Omar Sosa Palacios is a prominent Cuban jazz conductor, composer, and pianist; born on April 10, 1965, in the province of Camagüey. At the age of five, he began studying classical percussion, the xylophone, and the marimba; he later began piano studies at the National School of Music in Havana.

After graduating, he began his military service, where he joined the group Tributo, performing trova with poetry, a combination of Pablo Milanés’ style and traditional Cuban music.

In Cuba, Omar Sosa recorded two albums with Tributo and one with singer-songwriter Vicente Feliú. He later began working with Xiomara Laugart and also recorded two albums with her.

In 1993, he traveled to Quito, Ecuador. Two years later, he moved to San Francisco, California, USA. In the latter city, he became involved in the Latin jazz scene and began a long-standing collaboration with percussionist John Santos. He also made several recordings with producer Greg Landau, a collaboration that continues to this day with the CD featuring Peruvian singer Susana Baca, a tribute to Bola de Nieve. He also collaborated with Cuban musicians Yosvany Terry and Jesús Díaz. In 1999, he moved to Barcelona, ​​Spain.

Omar Sosa’s work has been featured on various film soundtracks. His music blends jazz influences with Latin rhythms and North African percussion; he has also performed classical music. His melody is represented as an expression of humanism and Santería.

His band, Afreecanos, brings together musicians from the African continent, Cuba, Brazil, and France, exploring African traditions in a blend that breaks down many conventions of jazz and world music. With this group, he released an album in 2009 and toured worldwide in early 2010.

Among his most recent works is a CD of Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban jazz with the NDR Big Band from Hamburg. He also collaborated on a recording by Brazilian cellist and arranger Jacques Morelenbaum.

Omar Sosa Palacios, during his artistic career, has released twenty albums under his own name and has accompanied numerous productions by prestigious artists worldwide. He is one of the most original and productive jazz musicians to emerge on the international scene since the mid-1990s.