The Dominican-born, Juilliard-trained pianist Michael Camilo has been leading bands for 25 years this year, and to celebrate – and show just why he's stayed on top of the game – he gifts us this masterclass in large ensemble jazz, a work marred only by the remarkably dull packaging it comes wrapped in. Assisted by arranger/trombonist Michel Phillip Mossman, and featuring an 18-piece outfit with reeds and the largest, tightest horn section this side of Punta Cana, Camilo shows off his skills in writing for both orchestra and soloists, and delivers the goods on 11 of his essential tracks, each re-set and reinvigorated. Familiar tunes such as ‘Mano a Mano’ and ‘On Fire’ pulse with fresh energy, the former tumbling and galloping with percussive Cuban vigour after muscular piano and solos on tenor and trumpet, the latter as incendiary as its title. Camilo has performed with everyone from Dizzy and Mongo to Jaco, Airto and Esperanza, and homages abound. Mongo Santamaria gets a dedicated blues intro. Iconic conguero Sammy Figuero is lionised by percussionists Eliel Lazo and Cliff Almond on ‘And Sammy Walked In’. Moments of mellowness keep things textured, with lilting flutes and muted trumpets on ‘Liquid Crystal’ and swaying atmospherics on ‘Just Like You’. And everywhere are virtuoso passages and unexpected turns, with Camilo's expert pianism a constant. Superb.