Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba has long pulled different strands of the world's music into thrilling, technically astute coherence. Steeped in Latin flamboyance and possessing a trained technique – he was raised and educated in Havana – his densely textured jazz virtuosity won him a contract with Blue Note in 1990. Then in his twenties, he has hardly put a foot wrong since.

This release is the second of a projected three album project exploring the piano trio form. The first, the freewheeling, collaborative and Grammy-winning Skyline, was recorded in New York with bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jack DeJohnette in 2018. In contrast, Turning Point, recorded in Miami the following month, is a tightly-argued exploration of the jazz language based on Rubalcaba's work – three tracks re-harmonise and re-configure past compositions. Matt Brewer and Eric Harland on bass and drums are knockout support, and Rubalcaba is imperious.

The album's opener ‘Infantil’, from the 2008 album Avatar, confirms the leader casts the jazz net wide. Precision piano stabs come with unison bass, stubby walking lines gain tricky hi-hat and snare, and the piece changes shape at the drop of a hat. ‘Hard One’, from Inner Voyage, has more space, but a similar cast, and the bolero ‘Otra Mirada’ which first appeared on Supernova in 2001, is here presented as a brooding, impressionist mist. The new composition is split into three exciting tracks, and delivers thrilling contemporary walking-bass swing. But even here the tight-knit band have surprises in store. ‘Ikü', derived from a Yoruba chant, delivers the contemplation and calm to round out an always engaging set. The final album will feature an all-Latin cast. Can't wait!