The Suba Trio—Omar Sosa from Cuba (keyboards), Seckou Keita from Senegal (kora), and Gustavo Ovalles from Venezuela (percussion)—rolls into the Outpost for a two-night stand, riding on the wings of their second and profoundly beautiful album, Suba, the word for “dawn” in Keita’s native Mandinka language. They are on a mission.
If you call pianist/composer Omar Sosa on his Spanish What’s App number, you’ll see this tagline: En la lucha (In the struggle). He’s been at it since before I interviewed him for the first time in 2010, was still at it when we spoke again in 2017 before his previous appearance at the Outpost, and as he heads toward Albuquerque for the trio’s April 20 and 21 dates, he is still en la lucha, with no thought of changing. “What is the reason to change? We already have some signatures in our soul,” he says, with a laugh. “And the signature is, OK, let’s see how we can put people together.”
For the Suba Trio, that is accomplished through the creation and performance of quietly powerful music that invites you to drop into a peaceful space. Their first album, the hypnotic Transparent Water (reviewed here), included guest musicians from around the world. On Suba, the trio pared back, not only on guest personnel—with contributions from Jaques Morelenbaum (cello), Dramane Dembélé (flute), and Steve Argüelles (sequencing, effects, percussion)—but compositionally, as well, choosing a more minimalist approach.
“In music, I take the approach of the masters—Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk,” Sosa says. “Miles said, the best note is the note that you don’t play. And the silence gives you the opportunity to listen to the note that’s there.” Gives you the space to hear what the music brings. “The concept that we want to bring is peace, love, unity,” he says.
Some composers write sacramental music, but the music on Suba is itself a sacrament, a portal into what Sosa calls “a special dimension.” Sosa told me in 2010 that for him, every melody is a path to God, and Suba has 11 gorgeous paths. There’s the gentle welcome of “Allah Léno,” with its braided Cuban and Senegalese rhythms. “Korason” could be an African bolero. Keita drops shards of kora light in “Drops of Sunrise,” along with a soulful vocal. The deep quiet of “Floating Boat” invites listeners to drop into themselves and hear what their soul is saying. The music, upbeat or reflective, surrounds a silent center, a deep well of peace.
“Peace can bring you to a state of mind. You can see and feel everything with light,” Sosa says. “We are in a fire moment in this planet, and we need to bring it down a little bit and give time to ourselves, to love each other in the way that God always saw every single human being. We are here to love each other, not to hate each other.”
The Suba Trio’s mission is to bring that message, that experience, that special dimension to listeners, to cultivate a peaceful state of mind, a new sunrise. Suba lifts a hymn and a prayer for that peace.
“I hope that everybody can listen to Suba in the way we present. Peaceful way, unity, and integration of different cultures without any boundaries. Basically, everybody can express what they like to say. Respect each other, but with one philosophy: Less is more. Peace is the space. Love is the space. Peace is freedom. Love is freedom. And this is one of the fundamental elements and the foundation of Suba, and the foundation of my life today.”
© 2022 Mel Minter
The Suba Trio
Omar Sosa, Seckou Keita, Gustavo Ovalles
A New Mexico Jazz Festival Event
Sponsored by Christine Chelist in honor of Eddie Chelist’s Birthday
Wednesday and Thursday, April 20 and 21, 7:30 p.m.
Weil Hall at the Outpost Performance Space
210 Yale SE, Albuquerque
Tickets: $25 (member/student); $30 (general)
For tickets or more information, click here, or call 505-268-0044.
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