With a seemingly endless stream of brilliant Cuban pianists – from Gonzalo Rubalcaba through to David Virelles – all male – it was only a matter of time before there'd be an outstanding female. And here she is… Marialy Pacheco. She's been playing since she was seven years old. Both her parents were musicians and her training, as you'll hear, was totally classical when she attended two of Havana's most prestigious colleges, followed by three years of compositional studies under Tulio Peramo at the Instituto Superior de Artes. In 2002, after becoming interested in jazz, she won the Cuban competition Jo-Jazz, with Chucho Valdés in charge of the jury, followed two years later by her first of many albums, Bendicious. In 2012, she became the first woman ever to win the Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition. She'll be there again this year promoting this new Duets set, which features some of her closest musical associates in Germany, where she is now domiciled. The opening track teams her with Omar Sosa, followed by a fascinating workout with mandolin player Hamilton de Holanda. Their empathy is really special on this track, ‘Capucho do Sul’. Another outstanding title is ‘You’, co-written with the extremely soulful singer Max Mutzke. Rhani Krija's percussion adds excitement to ‘La Camparza’ and Puerto Rican altoist Miguel Zenon's ‘La Bikina’ closes an excellent album combining Cuban classical and jazz rhythms. Marialy Pacheco is a major international artist.