Suba Trio

Seven-time Grammy-nominated pianist Omar Sosa joins kora maestro Seckou Keita and percussionist Gustavo Ovalles for an all-star collaboration.

 

The Atlantic Ocean separates Senegal and Cuba, the respective birthplaces of kora maestro Seckou Keita and piano virtuoso Omar Sosa, a distance diminished by their shared ancestral connection to Africa.

In the summer of 2012, Omar and Seckou were invited to perform together in London by their mutual friend, the drummer Marque Gilmore. “Seckou arrived just before the gig, took out his kora and started playing,” Omar remembers, “and I clicked with him like we had been playing together all our lives.”

 

Seckou loved Omar for his “high level of musical spirituality.” Omar saw in Seckou a rare ability to blend, collaborate, but never lose his identity. Both men started their careers as drummers, so the melodies grooved. For this collaboration they're joined by master percussionist Gustavo Ovalles, after their critically acclaimed Tiny Desk performance together.