Omar Susa

Due isole erranti si incontrano in mezzo al mare per dare vita ad un intenso viaggio musicale; dalle voci ancestrali dei tenores alle melodie intense e accattivanti in puro stile jazzy, dalle ispirazioni classiche all’improvvisazione contemporanea, dal ballo sardo ai ritmi solari caraibici per arrivare infine all’uso attento e ispirato della “boghe”, la voce solista del tenore barbaricino che, inserito in una tessitura musicale apparentemente lontana, assume una nuova dimensione e un grande fascino.

Muddy Springs Road, originally released in 1995 on Watermelon Records, was the album in which Omar Kent Dykes finally started putting everything together, opening up his sound with additional players, including harmonica ace Gary Primich and session drummer George Rains, while at the same time reining in his vocal excesses and writing solid, autobiographical songs like the two that lead off this album, "Muddy Springs Road" and "Black Bottom." Both songs draw on Dykes' childhood impressions growing up in McComb, MS, and both give off an ominous, swampy glow that gains emotional nuance from Dykes' gruff, raspy vocals, which sound at times like Wolfman Jack fronting a blues band – which isn't a bad thing at all.

Hakim is again having a great time on We Are One, his first solo album in 14 years, as he does a deep-dive into his long and varied history as a supporting player for acts as diverse as Madonna, Dire Straits, Sting, David Bowie and Miles Davis to craft an album that doesn't neatly fit into a single category. Hakim isn't as much about meeting expectations as he is making music that comes across as honest and sincere without a trace of calculation or catering to trends.

Legendary drummer Omar Hakim from Weather Report, Sting, Miles Davis and Chic has teamed up with pianist extraordinaire Rachel Z; whose work with such artists as Wayne Shorter, Steps Ahead, and Peter Gabriel has earned her international recognition and acclaim from her peers and fans alike. This exciting musical partnership features the tasteful virtuosity and sensitivity of these Grammy Award winning musicians as they take you on an exciting journey performing some of the most creative and unique arrangements of jazz standards and chart topping rock hits of the past 30 years.

"It's an album that is tightly constructed, like movie editing in the sense that the clarity of musical ideas are presented to maximum effect, be it a simple melody, a curious rhythm, or an electronic touch here and there. It remains rich, too, in the way that a favorite record is what you keep returning to, an important objective of ours. It tells a story about Omar's relation to jazz, Afro-Cuban rhythms and spirituality, the piano, and a freely expressive mind".