About three years ago, this writer was asked by Cuban pianist Ortiz to do the liner notes for an album he'd made for American bassist Michael Janisch's London based label, Whirlwind Recordings, with a group that included the brilliant drummer Rudy Royston and which eventually performed in concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. This is the first of his music that I've heard since then and it's simply magical. Rhythm is the key. Two of the lengthy compositions – ‘Analytical Symmetry’ and ‘Fractal Sketches’ – were originally heard on the studio album Hidden Voices, and featured Eric Revis on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. Their replacements here, Brad Jones and Chad Taylor, are excellent musicians who go where Ortiz takes them. ‘Symmetry’ and ‘Sketches’ last for 34 minutes, while the second part of this beautifully recorded 2016 concert comprises a long bass improvisation followed by an Ortiz arrangement of a Chopin étude, two Ornette Coleman titles (‘Open or Close’ and ‘The Sphinx’) and, finally, an almost unrecognisable ‘Alone Together’. But Ortiz is the star, displaying his classical training, his aptitude, and enthusiasm for jazz and, above all, his country's exciting Afro-inspired rhythms which build and build throughout.