Aruán Ortiz

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Review:

This is the hundredth and twenty-sixth in a series of special Jazz on the Tube reviews of live stream performances.

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Aruán Ortiz, who was born in Cuba, has been an important part of the avant-garde jazz scene in New York ever since moving to the United States 15 years ago.

He is as well-known as a composer as he is a pianist and has worked along the way with Wadada Leo Smith, Don Byron, Greg Osby, Wallace Roney, Nicole Mitchell, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, Henry Grimes, Marshall Allen, Hamiet Bluiett, and Oliver Lake among others.

On his LiveStream from June 11, 2020, Aruán Ortiz at first creates an introspective piano solo that builds up slowly, gingerly exploring the piano, utilizing a repeated note as he improvises melodic if unexpected ideas, and ending peacefully.

His second improvisation is more dissonant and freer if just as logical while his third is atmospheric and based around a repeated note in the lower register.

Aruán Ortiz’s moody and thought-provoking music is fun to watch develop.

– Scott Yanow