The music of Aruán Ortiz on his upcoming album (expected released date: Spring 2023), featuring bassist Brad Jones and master drummer John Betsch, will be a celebration of his 50th birthday, summarizing the musical influences that have shaped Aruán's artistic vision and deepened his personal approach as a performer and composer since he left his hometown, Santiago de Cuba, in 1996.

Conceived as an ode to self with an eye to the future, this album will draw on his integration of Afro-Haitian traditions of Cuba with avant-garde and progressive jazz, serial music, and contemporary classical language in his compositions; as well as translating non-musical contexts such as architectural patterns, finding inspirations from other artistic expressions like Cubism and Pointillism practice, and Afro-Futurism.

Aruán's ability to understand compositions as living entities, constantly mutating, permuting, and reshaping themselves, allows him to constantly integrate elements of the jazz tradition, along with his own Afro-Cuban rhythmic heritage, contemporary and serial music, resulting in a melting pot of styles and influences. Matthew Fiander from PopMatters described his music as “a solid and unique new sound in today’s jazz world;" Derek Taylor from Dusted Magazine said Aruán's music "illustrates that alchemy at length in a dizzying display of technique, energy and stylistic legerdemain that regularly leaves ears and brain scrambling to keep up and absorb the abundant details of the extended itinerary as it blazes by;" and -Lynn René Bayley from The Art Music Lounge opined, "completely hypnotic, drawing the listener deep into the workings of the trio’s musical mind."