“Sosa and Keita deliver a work that variously ebbs, flows and sparkles.” (Jane Cornwell, Jazzwise)

SUBA is the second album from the collaboration between one of Cuba’s most prolific Jazz Artists, pianist Omar Sosa, and Senegalese kora master Seckou Keita. Omar and Seckou’s debut album Transparent Water has toured worldwide since 2017 to enormous critical acclaim. They are again accompanied on this tour and album by Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Seven-time Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Omar Sosa has been passionately interested in exploring African musical cultures and their connections with his Afro-Cuban roots throughout his career, subtly blending traditional and contemporary sounds on many of his recordings. Seckou Keita has arguably become the most influential and inspiring Kora player of his generation, an exceptional and charismatic musician and a modern global citizen, with seven centuries of tradition and heritage expressed through his music.

Watch Sosa and Keita's Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music!

REVIEWS:

With a lighter, lyrical, improvisational approach, the two musicians create something artistically special and pull it off with aplomb. With its sympathetic sensitivity to human condition, SUBA’s mesmerizing music is a hymn to courage, strength and perseverance in a post-pandemic world. Each relaxing track, whether emphasizing piano, kora or vocals, presents itself a prayer for health, unity and sunnier skies ahead.

-- Roots Music Report

Maasai Footsteps is a project that reveals the evolution of the Maasai culture and shows the value of their traditions in the world today. To illustrate this development, Anuang’a brings modern choreography to the traditional performance of song and dance. Anuang’a describes it as “a show that travels to the ancient times and connects to the present, while revealing how much of the present-day culture is influenced by the past... This is a show that brings out the beauty of the Maasai culture and the unique rhythm of powerful voices and dance.” Anuang’a explains that the dancers are not professionals, and that he wanted to demonstrate the raw talent that exists in the local villages, those who sing and dance as part of their daily routine. The three clans involved are Purko from Maasai Mara, Loodokilani from Magadi and Kisonko from Amboseli. Each of the three clans bring their own combination of rhythm, voices and movements to traditional Maasai songs. While the groups perform a cappella, the contemporary dance that Anuang’a displays is a tribute to the Maasai community.“Tradition is what makes people who they are. If you lose it, you lose your identity.” – A.F.

Vusa Mkhaya embodies the sound of the eclectic, pulsing, dusty streets of Tshabalala township in Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo. He captures the romanticism of the Southern African climes, his voice rich with the vibrations of a heritage that spans decades. Driven by an unquenchable thirst for sound, he has worked with a wide range of musicians and productions, amassing a hugely impressive body of work. Vusa has pushed the boundaries of world music, retaining a mind-bending, soul-searching, spiritually stirring sound that is inspired by life’s questions. It is in that depth he feeds, and is himself fed by the beauty of music. As part of the vocal trio Insingizi he has gained commercial and critical success since their 2004 debut album, Voices of Southern Africa / Spirit of Africa, which sold over 250,000 units in North America. His solo offerings The Spirit of Ubuntu (2006), Vocalism (2012) and now Umanyanyatha are emotive musical stories of love, heartbreak and everyday living; tales delivered in soulful, sometimes haunting, achingly beautiful pieces. Mkhaya gives life to the voice, and it is the voice that gives him life.

Marrabenta is music from the beautiful country of Mozambique, situated on the African east coast. Mozambique was a Portuguese colony from 1505 to 1975, and its music reflects many cultures. It also reflects the struggle for independence, the ravages of a long war, and portrays the many faces of this beautiful country, from its spectacular coastline on the Indian Ocean, to its rugged and evocative mountains and countryside. The present release is a dazzling representation of Mozambique’s very own musical tradition. A dash of exotic fun, and the heady spirit of Mozambique’s nightlife. These are exciting songs with lyrics in Shangaan, Ronga, and Portuguese. Travel to the sunny southeast of the African continent for this enjoyable summer music.

Rhythms of West Africa, tapestries of authentic African voices, Senegalese / West African blues fusion, a cappella from Southern Africa, Namibian songs on guitar, serenades from Ethiopia and more... This African compilation is a stunning journey across the continent. The songs compiled on this release have been hand-selected from Arc’s vast catalog of African music albums. Musicians include Nii Okai Tagoe, Tinyela, Modou Toure and Ramon Goose, Musa Mboob and XamXam, and many more. Details on each song, the musicians, and the albums from whence these pieces were chosen are all included in the booklet.

In an intoxicating meeting of cultures, guitarist Ramon Goose and Senegalese singer-percussionist Modou Touré trace the ancestry of the blues – back before its birth to the dunes and deserts of western Africa. The West African Blues Project is a vibrant, exciting marriage of these two seemingly distinct but inescapably-linked musical traditions.