Joseph Omicil Jr, known professionally as Jowee Omicil aka Mr. BasH!, is a Haitian-Canadian jazz musician. He has worked in the past with artists such as Randy Kerber, André 3000, Tony Allen, Jacob Desvarieux, Roy Hargrove, Ibrahim Maalouf, Glen Ballard, Saul Williams and Francisco Mela. Born in Montreal, Omicil spends his time between Miami and Paris.

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Early life and education

Jowee Omicil was born to Rose-Annette Innocent and Joseph C. Omicil, a pastor. Omicil's mother passed when he was only 5 years old. Omicil was 15 when his father enrolled him in music school, much to his own surprise. His father's intent was to have him learn an instrument to accompany the church choir. Omicil chose the alto saxophone after being dissuaded from his first choice of piano, which too many students had already chosen. Three years into his studies Omicil was offered a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he majored in Music Education. Later on he also attended the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and was among the 20 finalists featured on BET Jazz.\n

Career

Over the course of his career Omicil has played with a number of prominent musicians such as Branford Marsalis, Richard Bona, Kenny Garrett, Marcus Miller, Pharoah Sanders, Wyclef Jean, Harold Faustin, André 3000, Saul Williams among others. In July 2018 Omicil served as master of ceremonies at a tribute concert celebrating Quincy Jones' 85th birthday at Montreux, Switzerland. Omicil appears in the Damien Chazelle-created Netflix show The Eddy. During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 Omicil released a solo album, LeKture, and Y Pati, a duet with the American Hollywood pianist Randy Kerber, whom he met on the set of the series The Eddy. Y Pati was released in December 2020. Also, the \"Big In Jazz Collective\" was born with the release in July 2021 of the Album Global. At the end of 2020 Jowee returned to the studio with brothers Louis and François Moutin. They recorded M.O.M, which was released in September 2021 on Laborie Jazz Records.\n

In 2023, Omicil released Spiritual Healing: Bwa Kayiman Freedom Suite a free jazz album inspired by an 18th-century Vodou ceremony held in the woods of Bois Caïman that helped give rise to the Haitian Revolution. When no label would release it, he founded BasH! Village Records, proving authenticity transforms obstacles into triumphs. The suite went on to become one of the year's most celebrated releases, praised by The Guardian, BBC, Jazzwise, Jazzthing among many others.\n

Later, he released sMiLes, his eleventh album, on 11 November 2025. The album, accompanied by Omicil's podcast The PoDBasH! over 11 months, features 11 tracks plus a bonus piece and includes a collaboration with Canadian-Haitian vocalist Dominique Fils-Aimé. sMiLes continues Omicil's exploration of jazz, free improvisation, hip hop, Haitian roots, and, as Gilles Peterson describes, his BasH! Energy Music. “sMiLes” got selected among the finalists for France's “Prix Joséphine,” an award that celebrates genre-defying, diverse and creative music, and earned wide acclaim in international publications like like Rolling Stone, Die Zeit, Downbeat Magazine, FIP, France Inter/Radio France, Jazz Times, L'Humanité and many more.\n

Two more albums follow in 2026: “OM,” a blueprint of Afro-Caribbean jazz duet with Francisco Mela, and “Chi Va PiaNo,” a solo piano album he himself has long been longing to release.\n

Aside from music, Jowee Omicil expresses his artistry on screen, appearing in Damien Chazelle's Netflix series “The Eddy,” and portraying Sammy Davis Jr. in “Mr. Aznavour” alongside Tahar Rahim.\n

As a mentor at the Montreux Academy, he passed his knowledge on to the next generation of talented musicians. He later founded his own BasH! AkademY, a nomadic school with no fixed home, through which he now encourages students and audiences toward self-expression.\n

Discography

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Soundtrack

2013: Ayiti Toma, The Land of The Living, documentary by Joseph Hillel
2020: THE EDDY Netflix Show Joanna Kulig (vocals), Jorja Smith (Vocals), Sopico (Vocals), Jowee Omicil (saxophones), Randy Kerber (piano), Damian Nueva (bass), Ludovic Louis (Trumpets), Lada Obradovic (drums)

Collaborations

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Movie

2024: Mr.Aznavour, as Sammy Davis Junior, Film by Mehdi Idir, Grand Corps Malade
2023: Le Temps D'Aimer, Film by Katell Quillévéré
2021: Big In Jazz Collective, documentary by Marina Jallier
2020: The Eddy, Netflix show, directed by Damien Chazelle, Houda Benyamina, Laïla Marrakchi and Alan Poul
2019: This Is The Bash, feature documentary by Mario Tahi Lathan

References

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External links

Jowee Omicil discography at Discogs

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Jowee Omicil

Broadcast History