Denver Jazz Fest 2025 — Omar Sosa: Quarteto Americanos

Omar Sosa is a Cuban-born jazz pianist and composer whose musical horizons span Caribbean, Latin American, European, and African traditions. Over a three-decade career and 35 recordings, Sosa has gained four GRAMMY nominations and three Latin GRAMMY nominations, as well as a Smithsonian Lifetime Achievement Award. He has worked with an extraordinary array of musicians including Paquito D’Rivera, Lionel Loueke, Paolo Fresu, Seckou Keita, Trilok Gurtu, Mino Cinelu, Pedrito Martinez, and scores of others. Sosa makes upwards of 100 annual appearances on six continents, including many of the world’s major jazz venues and festivals. Among his influences Omar cites traditional Afro-Cuban music, European classical composers (Chopin, Bartok, Satie), Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Chucho Valdés and Irakere, the pioneering Cuban jazz group. Quarteto Americanos is Sosa’s first U.S.-based jazz ensemble since the 1990s.