Ragged applause. “Please welcome Mr Elio Villafranca and the Jass Syncopators,” the announcer says, then more loudly, “Elio Villafranca.”

It’s a bold introduction to a fairly lively affair recorded in 2011 and 2012 at Dizzy’s in Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The Cuban pianist draws on early-jazz inspirations including the “Spanish tinge” of Jelly Roll Morton, Ellington (note the “jass” in the band name) and Caribbean styles, not sounding like a period piece at all.

All the tunes and arrangements are the pianist’s, Villafranca’s band including alternating bassists Carlos Henriquez and Gregg August, and again alternating drummers Willie Jones III and Lewis Nash. The album also bristles with bustling horn players, including trumpeters Sean Jones and Terell Stafford, and saxophonists Greg Tardy and Vincent Herring, plus plenty of congas and bongos adding to the percussive sound.

Ultimately even though there is plenty of heat to it it is quite a polite and nuanced presentation. Tunes take inspiration variously from Congo Square, Paris, and even Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms. ‘Mambo Vivo’ is dedicated to father of the mambo, Pérez Prado. Stephen Graham

Elio Villafranca, above. Photo: Motéma

Released on 22 September