Inside Rhythmic Falls

Aruán Ortiz has long dreamt of making an album that would evoke "a cascade of rhythms going over me, almost dragging me to fall." This feeling of being overtaken by rhythm is one he knows well, having spent his first 23 years in Cuba. Born in 1973, Ortiz grew up Santiago de Cuba – the cradle of Afro-Cuban music and a veritable "vortex of rhythm".

Ortiz captures the symphony of everyday life in Oriente on his arresting new album, Inside Rhythmic Falls. "I think of myself as a storyteller," Ortiz says, "and each of the album's ten tracks tells a story about Oriente province." For this project Ortiz has chosen Cuban percussionist Mauricio Herrera and one of the best drummers of today's jazz to his side. Andrew Cyrille was born in Brooklyn, New York into a Haitian family. "Rhythm is life … the space of time danced through," and inside rhythmic falls everyone is possessed by the dance, both leading and following.

The New York jazz critic Adam Schatz writes in the Liner notes: "When music is this glorious, it has the power not just to conjure spirits but to inspire belief and help us experience the marvelous. Or, as Carpentier also put it, the marvelous real."
(all quotes from the liner notes by Adam Shatz)

released March 20, 2020

Aruán Ortiz: Piano, Voice
Andrew Cyrille: Drums, Voice
Mauricio Herrera: Percussion, Voice

All music and poem "Lucero Mundo" written by Aruán Ortiz except "Para ti Nengón" (Popular Cuban song). Emeline Michel, Marlène Ramírez-Cancioon vocals on Track 1.

Recorded May 24 & 25, 2019, by Chris Allen at Sear Sound Studio NYC. Mixed by Chris Allen. Mastered by Michael Fossenkemper at TurtleTone Studio NYC.

Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Liner notes: Adam Shatz. Photo: Holger Thoss. Produced and published by Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt, Anja Illmaier, Florian Keller.