Monday, January 06, 2014

PIANIST/COMPOSER ARUAN ORTIZ LIVE AT THE 2014 NYC WINTER JAZZFEST

Jazz pianist/composer Aruán Ortiz, "the latest Cuban wunderkind to arrive in the United States" (John Murph, BETJazz.com), hit the ground running when he arrived on the American jazz scene in 2003. A classically trained violist and pianist, this Santiago de Cuba native's sound is as marked by the influence of the contemporary classical composers such as Schoenberg, Ravel, and Copland, as it is by traditional Afro-Cuban sounds and jazz masters such as Bud Powell, Monk, Andrew Hill and Muhal Richard Abrams. A major testament to his massive talent, since setting foot in the States, Ortiz was quickly called upon to perform and record with artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Greg Osby, Cindy Blackman, Esperanza Spalding, Gary Thomas, Wayne Krantz, Rashied Ali, Stefon Harris, Horacio "el negro" Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo, Lionel Loueke, Jane Bunnett, Jerry Bergonzi and others.  

Ortiz is currently featured on his own albums, "Orbiting" ("On Orbiting, the erudite Ortiz has smashed every preconception of Latin pianists and his penchant for innovative expression succeeds in surpassing the output of his musical contemporaries." - All About Jazz.com), and "Santiarican Blues Suite" on Sunnyside Records ("Ortiz's pen shines in a new light, the music lyrical, dramatic, creating suspense." 4 1/2 stars - DownBeat Magazine), plus, Steve Turre's newest recording, "Woody's Delight", the new Wallace Roney album, "Home" (both on HighNote, 2012), "Textures and Pulsations" with fellow pianist Bob Gluck, and The Aruan Ortiz/Michael Janisch Quintet, "Banned In London", featuring Greg Osby.  The NYJAZZ Quartet releases its newest album, "Blue Divide" (Zoho Music, 2014), on January 14th, featuring Aruan Ortiz, Rob Derke, Carlo de Rosa & Eric McPherson.

 

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