He grew up traveling around the world as the son of a United Nations diplomat living everywhere from Prague to Havana as well as his ancestral home of Afghanistan.

[3] He notably met Fidel Castro at the age of 14, who is said to have allowed him to sneak into the local Cuban jazz clubs, the sounds of which influenced his formative compositional style.

[6] His sophomore release Free As A Bird in 2004, produced and arranged by keyboardist Gregg Karukas, featured world class violinist Charlie Bisharat and Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal.

[8] In 2007, Secret Journey, produced, co-written and arranged by Gregg Karukas, also critically acclaimed, featured Ardeshir Farah.

This album was followed by Daytime Dreamer in 2013 which featured six new recordings along with tracks previously released from Opal Fire and Free As A Bird.

[12] The album was mixed by four-time Grammy winner Dave Reitzas at Westlake Studios in Hollywood, CA.

As Omar notes, “it reminds me of my first album, Opal Fire, especially with its feeling of simplicity in the melodies and the simple truths they convey.