Omar Sosa & NDR Bigband - Ceremony

Ceremony is a major project, the fruit of pianist-composer Omar Sosa's first big-band collaboration with composer-arranger-cellist Jaques Morelenbaum, Hamburg's 18�piece NDR Bigband (North German Radio / Norddeutscher Rundfunk), and the Omar Sosa Quartet. Recorded in two sessions (2007 and 2008) at NDR's Hamburg studios, under the direction of Morelenbaum and Sosa, Ceremony features Morelenbaum's brilliant arrangements of selections from Omar's Spirit Of The Roots (1999), Bemb�n (2000), and Afreecanos (2009) CDs - together with two new Sosa offerings, Llegada Con Elegba (the introductory track) and Salida Con Elegba (the closing piece). Ceremony takes something of the structure of a sacred bat� ceremony, invoking a panoply of Yoruba deities, while also delving into the Cuban son, danz�n, and cha-cha-cha. Reflecting Sosa's own spiritual grounding, Ceremony opens in sacramental veneration of Elegba, the divine messenger and guardian spirit, the all-powerful medium and diviner of human fate. Chang� En Esmeraldas is an extended tribute to the deity of thunder and lightning, fire and moral retribution, and a reflection upon Sosa's musical sojourn in the Afro-Ecuadorian community of Esmeraldas. Yemaya En Agua Larga honors the great mother and goddess of the sea, the moon, creation, and female mystery. In keeping with Yoruba tradition, Ceremony exits with a final ritual salutation to Elegba.