This was Ray Barretto's last album, recorded exactly a month before he suffered a heart attack that contributed to his death in February 2006. Sadly, it would also be one of pianist Hilton Ruiz's final sessions, for he passed away in June 2006 under mysterious circumstances. As such, it is poignant that both of these open-minded Latin jazz musicians would be looking backwards at this stage, for Standards Rican-ditioned is an album of standards recorded in an old-fashioned, straight-ahead style.......
