Anamaría Oramas ushers sounds of contemporary Colombian jazz to Korea

Breaking free from more familiar Latin American jazz sounds like tango and bossa nova, musician Anamaría Oramas is set to introduce her own traditional and contemporary Colombian jazz crossover sounds to Korea.

The singer and instrumentalist is scheduled to perform at the Jarasum Jazz Festival in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, happening Oct. 9-11. The annual music festival, now on its 23rd edition, is one of the leading jazz events in the country and has featured jazz musicians from all over the world since its inception in 2004.

She’s also making appearances in Seoul live venues Jazz Club Janus, Subriot and Morene Sukha as part of her 10th anniversary world tour.

Through her parents’ encouragement to pursue a career in music, Oramas trained as a classical musician in her younger years and developed a love affair with wind instruments. It happened almost incidentally; she fondly recalls a late violin audition that led to her learning the flute instead.

From then on, she has become inseparable from the instrument. “Since I was a child, I have had a special connection with wind instruments. I played my flute in front of many people — my family, my friends, the friends of my parents — and it was easy for me to develop confidence performing the flute,” the artist said.

It was later on that Oramas discovered the Colombian gaita, a traditional instrument that originated from Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the north of Colombia. The instrument’s body is carved out from cactus or bamboo stems, with a mixture of beeswax and charcoal fashioned as its head. A central part of Colombian folk ensembles, the artist weaves the instrument's archaic sensibilities into contemporary arrangements, creating a fresh hybrid for the modern Colombian music landscape.

Marking a first in her career, Oramas shared her thrill over her debut performances in East Asia. “I feel excited bringing my music to Korea — sharing Colombian jazz music, sharing music from another part of the world,” she told The Korea Times.

Drawing from the indigenous sounds she grew up with, the singer also takes influences from African and European roots, forming a myriad of rhythms unique to her music.

Spending most of her time in her home base of Bogota, the surrounding traditional music and jazz scene influenced her current sound — forming her now-signature sonic aesthetic. “It’s a city where songs from many places in Colombia converge. This gave me the possibility to enrich my creative sources to create my own sound and to understand the traditional languages from traditional music of Colombia,” she said.

Her 2019 album “Muntu,” for instance, grabbed the attention of many with the first-ever appearance of the gauta — a crossbreed of the transverse flute with the headjoint of the gaita — in Colombian jazz. The record is described as a “collective memory” of Colombia’s internal diaspora, with the integration of delicate melodies from both the north and west coasts.

This was followed in 2023 by her second studio album “Ramas Lejanas,” a reflection of her creative journey through Colombia’s wind-ensemble traditions, featuring a more mature side of her music.

Dubbed as “one of the most important voices of the new generation of jazz in Colombia,” the singer breathes through her pipes as she leads a quartet featuring a double bass, electric guitar and drums.

“The musicians who play with me are very important for the sound of this project,” she said. She will share the stage with guitarist Santiago Sandoval, drummer Kike Narváez and bassist David Cuervo for her upcoming performances. Playing together for a decade now after meeting at jam sessions in Bogota, their accompaniment has been an integral part of her musical journey.

“They are very committed to exploring the sounds of Colombia across their instruments,” she said. “I am the composer of the music I perform, but my partners enrich the music with their own sound.”

Along with her band, her Korea stages will unveil a new facet of her music, too, as she assigned the help of Korean musicians for the performances.

“When we are playing on the stage, we allow ourselves to be free,” she said.

This allows her ensemble more space to embrace the unrestricted, open nature of jazz — and turn each set into one that’s unlike their previous performances. As such, each concert is different — and a new experience to behold.

Oramas will also be playing in Canada and Mexico as part of her anniversary tour. Follow @anamariaoramas on Instagram for more information.

Mariel Abanes (@staymmmad on Instagram) is a freelance lifestyle and culture writer/editor from the Philippines, currently based in Seoul. She promotes indie music and culture, and writes poetry and prose from time to time.