‘Vibrant salsa beats meet contemporary classical piano music,’ explains the cover, ‘commissioned and played by Elena Riu,’ the Venezuelan-born ‘pianist, promoter, educator and creative director’ (as she describes herself). She has assembled 22 short piano pieces inspired by salsa which, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a popular form of Latin-American dance music, characterised by Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Cuban big-band dance melodies, and elements of jazz and rock which developed in New York in the 1970s.

With all its good intentions, this Arts Council project is variable in musical interest and worth. It ranges from Ricardo Lorenz’s attractive Worcestershire and Chick Corea’s foot-tapping La Fiesta (both enhanced by Wilmer Sifontes’ subtle percussion), through to the gentle persuasion of Mompou’s ‘Song and Dance VI’, the only truly sensual work on the disc, and Adina Izarra’s Cónclave (I’d rather listen to my piano being tuned, a process to which this piece bears a marked resemblance). Riu is a fluent improviser but her piano tone is not always the most alluring and, in some numbers, has to contend with an out-of-tune A2.