FYI
3/1/2026
Free Iran
2/16/2026
Tom Burnett: People of SoSaLa’s Past are still Alive and Active
2/9/2026
Japanese fans…
Great news! EL SUR RECORDS in Tokyo Carries all SoSaLa CDs!!!
2/2/2026
SoSaLa’s MFM Podcast Host Debut Feat. Leon “Kaleta” Ligan-Majekodunmi
Have you listened to MFM SPEAKS OUT yet? Check it out here: https://mfmspeaksout.simplecast.com/episodes/kaleta-F6R_FegB
Episode #1: host SoSaLa in conversation with Fela Kuti -Egypt 80 guitarist Kaleta.
1/8/2026
IRAN IN UPROARS!
Now, the Iranian people are all on the streets of Iran demanding a FREE IRAN from oppression. Bye-bye, bye-bye regime….https://on.soundcloud.com/BpgFK9LbOOFTt3c37k
11/26/2025
MFM 10th ANNIVERSARY Celebration Event at The Cutting Room (NY), September 5th, 2025
11/12/2025
1983 Reviews
“I found this disc to be rather disturbing, noisy, brutal, intense, and even scary at times. Better than some of the No Wave live sets that I caught in the late 1970s. SoSaLa recently played at the Cutting Room in NYC, more than 40 years after these sessions were recorded. He is still at it and still doing his own musical activism for just causes. He is still true to his original vision of poking fun at the powers that hold us down. He remains a brave soul.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter (DMG Newsletter), 11/7/2025
Read the whole review here: https://downtownmusicgallery.com/search.php?id=2025_11_06_09_13_47pm
10/23/2025
“This album of free jazz/ noise/ NO WAVE rock has a heavy, punky sound that seems to express the energy and anger of especially the young in 1983 and is still felt today. One wonders if such music will ever stop feeling relevant.” Fiona McTaggart (Scottish Jazz Space, 10/23/2025)
Read the whole review here: https://www.scottishjazzspace.co.uk/album-review-sosala-1983-live-at-the-montreux-jazz-festival-and-rathausplatz-bern/
10/21/2025
“In addition to the superb music it contains, 1983 – Live at Montreux Jazz Festival and Rathausplatz Bern is an intriguing historical document. It highlights the extemporized experimentations in which artists like the SADATO GROUP were engaged. Hopefully, more will be available from SoSaLa’s “vault” for modern listeners to enjoy.” Hrayr Attarian (Free Jazz Collective), Tuesday, October 14, 2025)
Read the whole review here: https://www.freejazzblog.org/2025/10/sosala-1983-live-at-montreux-jazz.html
This afternoon, SoSaLa attended the #nokings march in Manhattan’s Bryant Park, representing his musicians’ rights organizations, including MWA, the Recording Academy, Local 802, and Musicians For Musicians (MFM).
Nothing special happened during the march. Before the march, there was more than one hour to wait. Fortunately, the rain was weak.
Not much music was happening except for a marching band chanting “Power Have the People,” organized by Patricia Parker of Arts For Art.
4/28/2025
This is a drawing of SoSaLa by a sweet girl who calls herself HOPE. While listening to SoSaLa’s sax in Carl Schurz Park, she drew a portrait of him quietly.
This incident occurred on a lovely, warm afternoon, April 20th, at 6:28 p.m.
SoSaLa played his soprano sax at his favorite spot in the park. As always, all the music he played was improvised.
The soprano is a very expressive-sounding instrument, which makes people in the park stop and listen to the oriental-flamenco-like sounds.
1/14/2025
Last year, I received an email from musician and poet Bob Herlund, aka Bobby Jun, who wanted to share his recent single release, “Esfahan.” I listened and commented on it in an email. Today we had a long telephone conversation and became friends. I just bought his track on Bandcamp for $10. Please listen and tell me how you like it. Please Google Esfahan as well and find out why he wrote a song about this tremendous Iranian city.
Stream and buy here: https://bobbyjoon.bandcamp.com/track/esfahan-isfahan
7/3/2024
It was in 1993 that SoSaLa met legendary couple AIRTO MOREIRA (Miles Davis, RETURN TO FOREVER, WEATHER REPORT, etc.) & “FOURTH WORLD” FLORA PURIM at the Blue Note Club in Tokyo. Airto is a Brazilian jazz drummer and percussionist married to jazz singer Flora Purim. As a fan of both, SoSaLa attended their show privately and was lucky enough to meet both in the Green Room afterward. The show was fantastic. Airto’s playing was so energetic, uplifting, and sometimes funny. Flora’s singing and voicing were very original and passionate. Bravo!
Flora and Airto made time to chat with SoSaLa. Appreciating the couple’s kindness, SoSaLa presented Airto with a t-shirt from his music company, POP BIZ. At the end, they exchanged addresses. Airto invited SoSaLa, along with his horn, to see him in London. Unfortunately, this never happened because neither of us could make time.
Speaking of Airto’s health issues, Airto has been suffering from severe health problems for the last two years. He and Flora moved to Rio. Flora is now his full-time caregiver. A GoFundMe page was set up by their daughter Niura, who’s also a singer, to raise funds for moving Airto to a more suitable care facility.
I feel so bad for him and wish him a fast recovery. My love goes to Flora as well.
6/24/2024
SoSaLa found a new spot to play for the people, namely at Carl Schurz Park in New York’s Upper East Side. He’ll be playing there in the early evening.
5/31/2024
SoSaLa the actor…
In 1981, SoSaLa performed in a Japanese indie short film called Out To Lunch, directed by Tokyo’s filmmaker Hideaki Sasaki. He plays a gaijin (foreigner). The film was shot in Tokyo’s Shinjuku (Shinjuku is a whole city within Tokyo. Developed in the latter half of the 20th century, it has become synonymous with Tokyo and is one of its most famous neighborhoods. It’s a microcosm of Tokyo, featuring skyscrapers, neon lights, and yakitori stalls around the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building early in the morning. After digitalizing the video, SoSaLa is going to speak about the plot.
3/12/2024
Another BIG loss: my dear music colleague and friend, bassist TM Stevens, passed away two days ago, suffering from dementia. The last time we talked over the phone, especially about his “Africans in the Snow” recording and his divorce from his Japanese wife, was perhaps in 2010, before his European tour. In the next few years, I tried to call him, but in vain. Since 2017, he has suffered from his illness. Lately, I found out about his whereabouts, but wasn’t able to see him because I had knee replacement surgery and didn’t have a car to drive to his nursing home somewhere in New Jersey.
TM, I feel so bad about how you ended your life. Why with dementia? You made me think about how I will die. R.I.P., brother.
Besides, I knew TM before moving to NY from Tokyo because I promoted his SPV CDs in Japan while running the music company POP BIZ Ltd in Tokyo. More about him here:
https://doobeedoobeedoo.info/in-memoriam-bassist-t-m-stevens/
