“After the conference on James Reese Europe, we moved back to the Teatro Colosseo to attend Flamenco Criollo, a recital produced by pianist and composer Aruán Ortiz for the Flamenco Biënnale Nederland in 2021. It is a wide-ranging project, conceived as an in-depth investigation into Cuban cultural and musical heritage, enriched by the stage presence of flamenco singers and dancers, completing an ensemble focused on percussion.

Cuban musical history has its roots in the times of the Atlantic slave trade, fusing apparently distant traditions: from the gypsy culture of southern Spain to the polyrhythms of West Africa. The result is a unique sound language, not reproducible elsewhere. Ortiz appropriates this legacy and reworks it according to a personal vision, giving shape to an unprecedented synthesis in which the visual element becomes an integral part of the musical construction. The dancers' choreographic sequences become real rhythmic structures, on which Ortiz grafts sound materials with great originality and expressive effectiveness.

If the recent piano solo presented at Bergamo Jazz had fascinated us without completely convincing, here all doubts have been dispelled: Flamenco Criollo has revealed itself to be a solid, original and well-calibrated work. It is not surprising that Ortiz is now one of the reference pianists for James Brandon Lewis, with whom he has already shared several albums and stages. Ultimately, another name to keep an eye on in the contemporary jazz scene.”

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