From a European tour during one of the many relaxations of pandemic restrictions, this was apparently the first extended opportunity in ages for Rubalcaba to perform live, and he certainly makes a meal of it. His companion Nuviola, a star in her own right and inventive with it, nevertheless comes across here more as a foil to the pianist on a repertoire of Cuban standards and a couple of originals, while also organising audience participation in the form of singalong phrases and fairly well-organised handclapping.

Gonzalo himself does everything from subliminal comping to extravagant fills to outrageous solo excursions, all with considerable rhythmic subtlety. And of course, on the more all-out sections, he manages to imply the typical cross-rhythms of a full Latin percussion section, often omitting the “one” and thus compelling the audience (and the album listener) to move in tempo. It must have been a ball to witness in person – you can almost forgive pianist-producer Rubalcaba putting the obvious encores at the start of the album.