FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JAIME OSPINA ANNOUNCES DEBUT ALBUM ‘THE VESSEL’
A CELEBRATION OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA THROUGH MUSIC IS DUE OUT MAY 24!
(Austin, TX) — Jaime Ospina, a longtime fixture in Austin’s vibrant music scene, is set to release his debut solo album, The Vessel, on May 24, 2025. He is a member of the Austin Music Award-winning Best Latin Act Superfónicos, and founder of the innovative non-profit FEEDING SOULS, which brings live music to children and other underserved community members. Ospina’s debut solo album is an extraordinary collaboration of an eclectic mix of musicians who honor the deep, interwoven histories of African and Latin American music.
Ospina, a Colombian-born multi-instrumentalist and composer, moved to Austin in 2016 where he found a community of like-minded artists—kindred spirits who shared a passion for exploring the crosscurrents of cumbia, reggae, funk, jazz, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. It was from that community where he credits meeting Nicolas Sanchez and Nick Tozzo and joining SUPERFONICOS.
A true artist and musician he continued to create new music that he could share with his entire community. This initiative became a reality with the support of the City of Austin’s Live Music Fund grant. The grant provided the necessary resources to bring Ospina’s vision to life organically and intentionally. From this vision, The Vessel was born – a collection of ten songs that are shaped by decades of melodic inspiration and collective musical exchange.
At its core, The Vessel is a meditation on resilience. The title track, co-written with Kalu James and HER MANA, serves as a thematic anchor for the album. “It’s a symbol of the beauty and endurance of African culture,” Ospina explains.
“THE VESSEL is a symbol/metaphor of the immense beauty and power of African music and culture in general. It is a beautiful piece of pottery created by life through hundreds of thousands of years. I imagine Life as this old abuela (grandmother) gathering the mud and shaping it for as long as humans have been around.
Europeans in their ignorance and arrogance, snatched this magnificent vessel, brought it to America and smashed it in thousands of pieces; each of those pieces landed on Native land like seeds that turned into trees, they blended with the Native cultures, beautiful in a different way, and created something new.
Little by little, through the last 100 years, those pieces, now turned into something different, had been looking for each other, like finding the way to get back together. This album is a celebration of the resilience of African Music, now stronger than ever; it’s a celebration of the dialogue between all the music rooted in Africa: Cumbia, Reggae, Funk, Jazz, Son just to name a phew, and the music from Africa.
At the same time is a metaphor of all those artists that make the decision to go to the source of this knowledge, in country side America (continent not country) and Africa, learn from the old maestros and then bring the music to the ‘civilization’, like vessels that submerge in water and then go somewhere else to alleviate the thirst.
At the same time vessels (boats) are what Europeans used for the slave trade to bring millions of humans to the New World. .”
Recorded over five days in April 2024 at Lechehouse, the studio of Grammy-winning producer Beto Martinez (Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Caramelo Haze), The Vessel embraces a live, unfiltered energy that was captured and recorded with all of the players collectively rather than individual recording sessions. To bring audiences into the creation process, Ospina partnered with Purple Bee TV and offered a rare glimpse into the creative process by livestreaming their album rehearsals in March 2024. He recalls, “We opened a window to the music ‘kitchen’ and basically showed the community how we musicians do what we do; it was challenging but magical.”
Musicians featured on the album include Victor Cruz (Nemegata, Voces del Bullerengue), Nick Tozzo (Superfónicos), Peter Stopschinski (Golden Hornet, Money Chicha), Alex Marrero (Brown Sabbath), and a rotating cast of players who have been instrumental in shaping Austin’s evolving Latin and Afro-rooted sound. The album’s tracks range from the introspective (“El Llamado/The Calling,” an ode to personal revelation) to the elemental (“El Viento/The Wind,” a meditation on the relationship between nature and music). Throughout, Ospina’s vision remains clear: to honor the past while embracing the present, to build bridges between musical traditions, and to create something that feels both timeless and urgent.
While live performances in support of the album will be limited due to Ospina’s recent transition into fatherhood, he hopes to take The Vessel to unconventional spaces—house shows, backyard gatherings, and community-driven events. “Before the music industry took over, this is how music lived—among the people,” he says. “That’s where I want this music to be.”
The Vessel will be available on Bandcamp on May 24, 2025.
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