Omar Sosa and John Santos are obviously two soul brothers. They might not look alike, but musically they are identical twins. Soul mates totally absorbed with each other and able to follow each nuance with ultimate precision.
Sosa began the evening banging the piano with his elbow and fingers. There was little finesse, lots of noise. Santo began with a plastic baby rattle and graduated to a child's clock, which made plastic noises. When the number was over, Santo explained his table of children's noisemakers — the piece was a prayer to the God of Kid-hood. Now it began to fall into place. These were serious musicians after all.
Once you got over the funky cloths and play-acting; you began to hear and appreciate the music. Half way through the concert, Santos explained his theory of Caribbean/ Latin influence on American Jazz coming out of New Orleans — the Port of New Orleans was, in essence, a Caribbean Port. New Orleans was a way station for African, Cuban, and all the variations found through Latin America and the Antilles.
Toward the end of the concert they did a piece of pure introspection. Sosa proved once and for all he actually did play piano, not just bang on it; and Santos did a bongo number which left my arms tingling. In summary, this duo who played music while cruising their partner's soul; gave us a fourth perspective on jazz — doing it with verve and flair.
Tomorrow BeachJam ‘99! What a week!