Born out of a meeting in Hamburg in 2006, the duo formed by Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu and Cuban pianist Omar Sosa has established itself as one of the most unique collaborations on the contemporary jazz scene.
The duo’s rapport, patiently refined from concert to concert, has given rise to a shared language that blends Mediterranean lyricism, Afro-Cuban traditions, jazz improvisation and electronic textures. The duo has three albums to its credit. After Alma in 2012, their collaboration continued with Eros (2016), a concept album dedicated to love and featuring Natacha Atlas. Finally, Food concluded this trilogy in 2023 with a polyphonic album open to numerous guests such as Jacques Morelenbaum, Andy Narell and Kokayi. Each project enriches their universe, affirming the same quest: to link the intimate and the universal, song and experimentation, poetry and rhythm.
On stage, Omar & Paolo deploy music of great freedom. Fresu sculpts an airy sound, between trumpet and flugelhorn, enriched with effects and percussive gestures. Sosa broadens the harmonic spectrum through his use of the piano, Rhodes, MicroKorg and samples. Together, they construct a soundscape that transcends aesthetic and geographical boundaries.
With three albums and nearly twenty years of collaboration, Paolo Fresu and Omar Sosa have established a strong identity: that of a duo that rethinks the format, plays with textures, and invites listeners to enjoy a sensitive listening experience that is resolutely open to the world.