[2] Recorded at Abdala studio[3] the acoustic album[3] incorporates jazz, bebop, swing and Afro-Cuban ritual music.

In addition to his regular sidemen, percussionist Yaroldy Abreu Robles, bassist Lazaro Rivero Alarcón, and drummer Juan Carlos De Castro "Rojo" Blanco, are a horn section, trumpeter Reynaldo Melián Álvarez and saxophonist Carlos Miyares Hernández, and singer/percussionist Dreiser Durruthy Bombale.

[8] In October 2010 Wynton Marsalis travelled to Havana for a week-long series of shows with an aim of easing Cuba – United States relations.

[9] "Yansa" was inspired by the Yoruba religion, specifically a call to the deity Orisha, the track is highlighted by the vocals of Dreiser Durruthy Bombale.

[12]In The Washington Post Mike Joyce called the album a "keyboard tour de force"[10] In Jeff Simon's review in The Buffalo News he singled out the performances of drummer Juan Carlos De Castro "Rojo" Blanco and saxophonist Carlos Miyares Hernández, calling them "impressive players anywhere".

[14] William Ruhlmann of Allmusic call the album a "versatile set demonstrating [Valdés's] continuing vitality and invention".