Jazz Articles about Aruán Ortiz

About Aruán Ortiz

Album Review

James Brandon Lewis Quartet: Molecular

Read "Molecular" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
February 25, 2021

Trentotto anni, di Buffalo, James Brandon Lewis è uno dei più solidi tenorsassofonisti della sua generazione. A confermarcelo arriva questo suo nuovo lavoro in quartetto inciso a inizio 2020 (quindi fra gli ultimi ante-pandemia) in cui la solidità di cui sopra si manifesta sotto diversi profili: il suono, post-coltraniano aggiornato (non senza una patina di lirismo più o meno sotterraneo che rimanda a Gato Barbieri), le geometrie e gli equilibri quartettistici (complessivi), la cifra compositiva (tutti del sassofonista gli undici ...

Album Review

James Brandon Lewis: Molecular

Read "Molecular" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
October 18, 2020

Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis offers up an introductory statement in the album packaging as a preface to the liner notes of Molecular. His train of thought is difficult to follow. He leaves an impression of not being a “normal" person, in the best possible sense of that assessment. It is the impression of a deep-thinking artist working hard to pin down elusive truths, tying molecular biology and “African American quilting, spirituals, jazz, the abstract paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, the molecular ...

Album Review

Aruán Ortiz with Andrew Cyrille & Mauricio Herrera: Inside Rhythmic Falls

Read "Inside Rhythmic Falls" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
May 18, 2020

Cuban pianist Aruan Ortiz' fifth release for the Swiss Intakt label sits midway between his solo Cub(an)ism (2017) and dates by his Trio such as Live In Zurich (2018). In spite of the title, while there is a greater rhythmic impulse than on the unaccompanied session, the interaction largely pulls back from the intoxicating momentum of the latter. The presence of veteran master drummer Andrew Cyrille guarantees a certain degree of metrical adventure. But even with the addition of fellow ...

Album Review

Aruán Ortiz: Inside Rhythmic Falls

Read "Inside Rhythmic Falls" reviewed by Giuseppe Segala

by Giuseppe Segala
March 23, 2020

Affacciata sul mare dei Caraibi, Santiago de Cuba fa sentinella alle province orientali dell'isola, di cui è capoluogo. Quell'area, appunto chiamata Oriente, che serba un profondo aroma di Africa e nel contempo è teatro del sincretismo culturale con gli altri continenti: la formidabile mescolanza di umori e colori, di ritmi e movenze che hanno reso unico il teatro caraibico. Antica capitale di Cuba, Santiago conta oggi quasi mezzo milione di abitanti, di cui il 33 per cento neri e il ...

Album Review

Aruán Ortiz with Andrew Cyrille and Mauricio Herrera: Inside Rhythmic Falls

Read "Inside Rhythmic Falls" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
March 17, 2020

Cuban-born pianist and composer Aruán Ortiz is constantly evolving, experimenting and injecting new elements into his craft. Inside Rhythmic Falls is his third trio album, each with impressive but different lineups. His previous trio release, Live In Zürich (Intakt Records, 2018), with bassist Brad Jones and Chicago Underground mainstay Chad Taylor on drums and mbira, saw Ortiz mixing his original compositions with the likes of Ornette Coleman and Chopin. Inside Rhythmic Falls takes yet another turn. Drummer Andrew ...

Album Review

Don Byron / Aruan Ortiz: Random Dances And (A)tonalities

Read "Random Dances And (A)tonalities" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
March 10, 2019

The title Random Dances And (A)tonalities hints at the inclusive nature of this studio encounter between Cuban-born, New York-based pianist Aruán Ortiz and American clarinetist Don Byron. Ortiz's admiration for Byron's work caused him to seek out the reedman and led to this session that brings together their varied backgrounds. Between the two, they encompass early jazz, the liberated mainstream, avant-garde and classical realms. The resultant program contains three originals from the pianist, two from Byron, one jointly credited tune ...

Album Review

Don Byron / Aruan Ortiz: Random Dances And (A)tonalities

Read "Random Dances And (A)tonalities" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
January 14, 2019

Aruan Ortiz is a Cuban-born pianist who has worked with a number of progressive jazz luminaries including William Parker, Oliver Lake and Nicole Mitchell. Here he performs a program with clarinetist Don Byron which touches on a wide spectrum of music from J. S. Bach's formal beauty to Duke Ellington's crafty blues. The two men show the ability to knit their styles together from the first track, Ortiz's own “Tete's Blues," with Byron's clarinet snaking its way through ...