Biography
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Born
1973 (age 52)
Aruán Ortiz, “the latest Cuban wunderkind to arrive in the United States” (BET Jazz), hit the ground running when he came on the American jazz scene in 2003. A former classically trained violist and pianist, this Santiago de Cuba native’s sound is as marked by the influence of the contemporary classical composers such as Schoenberg, Ravel, and Copland as by traditional Afro Cuban sounds and jazz greats Bud Powell, Art Tatum, and Thelonious Monk.
Aruán’s jazz career took off in Europe after being recipient of various awards including Best Jazz Interpretation, Festival de Jazz in Vic, Spain (2000) and Semifinalist, Jas Hennessy Piano Solo Competition, Montreux, Switzerland (2001). He soon became a first call pianist in Barcelona and Paris. Since arriving in the US, he has played steadily with Wallace Roney, Antoine Roney, Terri Lyne Carrington, Greg Osby, and Cindy Blackman. He has also played or recorded with Esperanza Spalding, Gary Thomas, Wayne Krantz, Rasheed Ali, Stefon Harris, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo, George Garzone, Jane Bunnett, and Jerry Bergonzi among other great jazz artists.
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