You should be familiar with the name of Adam Cruz through any one of his sideman gigs with people like David Sánchez (with whom he appeared at London's Jazz Café many moons ago) or Chick Corea or, for the past ten years, Danilo Pérez. His debut as a leader reveals he's also an extremely interesting composer. Indeed, this is a totally fascinating CD because of the way in which his strongly latin folklore works are cleverly orchestrated to allow the often densely harmonised sections to build and to naturally move on to the next, which might be almost peaceful in contrast but always leaving plenty of space for the soloists who bring an almost free-jazz feel. Every member of the band has plenty of solos and the overall vibe is very much that of a live situation. (There's a terrific video of an NYC club date, with Scott Colley depping for Cruz's Danilo colleague Ben Street, which illustrates the point.) Potter is on all the tracks and in particularly muscular form on the opening ‘Secret Life’, while Zenón (outstanding on the lengthy ‘Emje’, which is MJ as in Michael Jackson) alternates with Steve Wilson (excellent on the jaunty ‘The Gadfl y’), with Steve Cardenas’ guitar playing an important role in the ensembles as well as solos. With Street's carefully chosen bass notes prominent in the mix, you'll be riveted to Venezuelan Ed Simon's piano work, some of his very best on record, often bringing moments of peace to the turmoil of the more passionate tracks. A really wonderful player. And while everyone's stating their case, Cruz's drumming, steeped in the traditions of both jazz and Latin but thoroughly modern throughout, rumbles and churns and inspires for some 72 minutes of music that breaks down barriers. An emotionally stimulating, satisfying session.