Transparent Water

In October 2000 Cuban pianist Omar Sosa made his UK debut in the most inauspicious surroundings: the bar of Glasgow’s Tron Theatre, on an upright piano before some 30 souls. No one who was there will forget it and if you’d like a taste of what it was like, you’ll find it here – not least because Sosa’s partner that night, Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles, features significantly on this conversational, quietly spiritual collection. Over the next five years Sosa revisited Glasgow annually, each time with a different troupe and in Nottingham-based kora master Seckou Keita he’s found yet another empathic soul to work with in a cosmopolitan crew that also includes Wu Tong, the Chinese flute player with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.

The music they create is understated, often meditative, but also rhapsodic, as Sosa distils his African roots and jazz studies into beautiful, direct melodies that entwine with Seckou’s kora and the pair’s chant-like vocals. ‘Black Dream’ works Japanese moods into its contemplative atmosphere. ‘Tama-Tama’ waltzes beguilingly and the murmuring ‘Peace Keeping’ sums up the album’s ethos and its sense of flowing creativity.