Omari Jazz Addae, electing to simply go by Omari Jazz in his creative endeavors, is a Portland, Oregon based composer, sound designer, and producer. Simultaneously prolific and measured in his output, the 29 year old polymath is well known by fans for his consistently sporadic releases of compositions. In 2020, fans were rewarded in the form of album “Dream Child”, a 13 track sonic exploration of ritual and the collective subconscious (among other themes) that Bandcamp’s editorial staff described as ‘one of the most immersive beat tapes in recent memory’.
Since then, listeners have found most access to Jazz’s productions in real time through his regular twitch streams. These streams have garnered support from thousands of music fans and fellow artists in the past several years, with viewers sometimes tuning in to participate in beat challenges using samples crafted by the artist himself, other times simply to be inspired by his relentlessly inventive production/composition process. This process has lent itself to a number of remixes for artists like Hiatus Kaiyote and Son Lux.
As a composer, Jazz has completed projects for a slew of brands including Red Bull, Nike, Apple, and John Deere. He’s also ventured into composing scores for film, notably penning the score for 2023’s “Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land”. The film has seen a fruitful festival run, screening at Tribeca and Black Star and winning the prize for best feature film at the Detroit Black Film Festival. He also led the sound design for Metro Boomin’s 2023 short film “Heroes and Villains” in collaboration with Gibson Hazard.
In 2024, Jazz released the eponymous album “Black Decelerant” with collaborator Khari Lucas aka Contour on RVNG International- a label celebrated for stewarding boundary pushing works by contemporary songwriters and composers. The album was favorably received by critics, appearing in the Wire Magazine, MOJO, and a number of other domestic and international publications. On his own, Jazz has performed supporting & alongside artists such as MNDSGN, Kiefer, Ross from friends, Pink Siifu and many others.
Jazz is currently working on his next album, and is also the co/executive producer of Lucas’ recent offering ‘Take Off from Mercy’, released on Mexican Summer in 2024.
