Through his exploration of Pan-American piano Cliff Korman has not only embraced the cross-fertilization among traditional genres and repertoires, but has come to discover the piano as a new instrument. In mastering rhythm and unfolding a maze of melodic suggestions, Korman works with sound like a diamond carver, constantly marveling at the intimate dependence of clarity and hybridity. His improvisational dialogue with the masters of the pan-American piano tradition becomes every day more punctual, drawing connections between many of the early 20th century giants like Radamés Gnattali, Duke Ellington, and Heitor Villa-Lobos and Korman's contemporaries on both sides of the continent.