With the recent releases of a number of Cuban albums that have coincided with the easing of Cuban-US relations, fans of what Jelly Roll Morton referred to as the 'Latin tinge' have had much to celebrate. Prolific and in high-demand, the drummer Gerald Cleaver came into his own with the 2008 Farmers by Nature (AUM Fidelity) with Craig Taborn and Wiliam Parker.
Manning the bass chair is Grammy winning composer Eric Revis who has worked with a wildly diverse array of musicians including Betty Carter, Peter Brotzmann and Steve Coleman in addition to leading a trio with pianist Orrin Evans and Nasheet Waits. Ortiz has had an active presence as a side man as well, appearing on more than twenty recordings including those of trumpeters Steve Turre, Wallace Roney and bassist/vocalist Esperanza Spalding. Hidden Voices is Ortiz' ninth outing as a leader or co-leader including the brilliant Textures and Pulsations (Self-Produced, 2012) with fellow pianist and author Bob Gluck. That outing featured an entirely different group but clearly set the groundwork for Ortiz' unique approach to creating and executing forward-looking music. More than ten years prior to his new trio release, Hidden Voices, he had drawn favorable comparisons to Chick Corea and Ornette Coleman with Aruán Ortiz Trio Vol. Cuban born pianist and composer Aruán Ortiz is just now starting to broaden his long-overdue recognition after two decades as a leader or collaborator.
