This is a CD you can listen to again and again without it getting old, because it's just that deep. The talent assembled for this recording is incredible -- piano, trumpet, sax, flute -- it's all just stellar. (I need not mention the astounding percussion, because, well, it's Dafnis Prieto after all.)
The melodies are intricate and moving. I would definitely consider some of these pieces "challenging" in the sense that they do not instantly endear themselves to the listener. But listen to them a few times, understand them, and then you will be humming... Sometimes the theme dissolves into diverse streams, pulling apart, but just when you think it's completely evaporated or you've lost sight of where it's going -- bang -- he brings it back with even greater power and beauty.
The rhythms of course are incredible. Dafnis' music reminds me of the band Rush (and another great drummer) only in the sense that they never like to hang out to long on the same rhythm, the same refrain. In many of Dafnis' works, the rhythm is constantly changing. Just when you think you've got it, he changes it again. It's always Cuban-flavored, but never Cuban-generic. I've just never heard drumming like this before, and the CD does a reasonable job of capturing Dafnis' skill and creativity, if not the shear power that he conveys in a live performance. So, buy the CD, and catch a live performance if you can! I think Dafnis is without a doubt one of the most outstanding musicians of our time.