Omar Sosa stands at the head of this piano class

The relationship between jazz and Cuban music has been a virtual love feast since the ‘40s, when Mario Bauza, Machito, Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo sat down at the same musical table.

The close connection continued through succeeding decades, enhanced by groups such as Irakere since the ‘70s, and by the ‘80s defection to the U.S. of trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and woodwind specialist Paquito D’Rivera.

More recently players such as pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba have further affirmed the persistence of the intimate relationship between the two musical forms.

A new phase in the jazz and Cuban music linkage is being unveiled by gifted pianist Omar Sosa. Previous blendings of the two genres have tended to emphasize the powerful energies of Afro-Cuban rhythms in combination with the harmonic structures and improvisational qualities of jazz. Sosa, however, has moved beyond the parallelism of musical elements into a kind of natural, organic expressiveness in which the musics’ separate identities are replaced by a seamless, creative mutuality.

In his latest release, “Ayaguna” (****, Ota Records), he teams up in a live duo concert with Venezuelan percussionist Gustavo Ovalles. Both are followers of Santeria, the Cuban manifestation of the Yoruba culture of West Africa. The album title describes one of the paths of Obatala, a Yoruban deity associated with peace and wisdom as well as revolution and progress. And the music on the CD, which was recorded at a 2002 concert in Yokohama, Japan, superbly reflects all those qualities.

Reference points for Sosa’s performance include Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor, Randy Weston and Herbie Nichols, among others. But he has synthesized attributes from each of these adventurous pianists into his own unique voice.

The results are extraordinary. Using the piano’s potential to the fullest, usually from the keyboard, occasionally reaching in to stroke the strings, he produces wildly spirited rhythms -- complete, on “Una Tradicion Negra,” with shouted interjections. On “Trip in the White Scarf,” an electronic echo delay is employed, enlivening Sosa’s powerful explosions of rich note clusters with eerie repetitions.

He contrasts the hammering intensity of passages reminiscent of Taylor with the tender lyricism of “My Three Notes,” and emphasizes his Cuban roots with the surging dance rhythms and scorching montunas of “Toridanzon.”

Sosa, 37, immigrated to San Francisco in the mid-’90s and now has reportedly moved to Spain. Each of his seven albums has revealed impressive musical progression. His last album, “Sentir,” released in 2002, was nominated for a Latin Grammy and is a nominee for the Latin jazz album in next month’s Grammy Awards.

“Ayaguna,” which arrives in stores the first week in February, fully deserves even more attention, as does Sosa. Still far too little-known in this country, he has all the traits necessary to become one of the important figures in jazz.

Several other new albums featuring jazz pianists are arriving this month. Each, interestingly, emphasizes lyricism over firecracker virtuosity.

Benny Green and Russell Malone, “Jazz at the Bistro” (*** 1/2, Telarc Jazz). Pianist Green and guitarist Malone share a similar blend of technical expertise (each can play in virtually any jazz style) and understated expressiveness. Performing together at a St. Louis jazz club, they combine those skills in an entertaining program embracing an unusually diverse collection of material.

There is, for example, an almost rhapsodic rendering of Monk’s rarely heard “Ask Me Now,” a brightly rhythmic frolic through Paul Chambers’ skittish bop line “Tale of the Fingers” and an atmospheric take on Benny Carter’s moody “When Lights Are Low.” More unexpectedly, Green and Malone find the jazz in a pair of pop tunes, the Gimbel-Fox hit “Killing Me Softly” and the Bee Gees’ “How Deep Is Your Love?” Capping the offbeat material, they bring a svelte, rhythmic touch to Joe Raposo’s uplifting Muppets anthem, “Sing.”

Jacky Terrasson, “Smile” (***, Blue Note). The Berlin-born French pianist also examines an eclectic group of songs in his latest release. Starting unsurprisingly with Bud Powell’s “Parisian Thoroughfare” -- a favorite of the great bebop pianist’s many creative musical descendants -- he quickly shifts gears into Bill Lee’s “Mo Better Blues,” following with Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely?” and Miles Davis’ “Nardis.”

That’s a stylistically challenging set of material, but Terrasson handles it with ease, adding such unusual touches as a 5/4 rhythmic underpinning for “Smile.” Although the album hardly represents the sort of cutting-edge playing Terrasson has displayed in the past, it is an engaging example of a world-class jazz talent emphasizing the communicative aspects of his art.

Fred Hersch, “Live at the Village Vanguard” (***, Palmetto). Hersch adds his name to the lengthy roster of jazz performers -- now approaching 100 -- who have recorded at the 65-year-old Manhattan jazz club. Working with long-term associates Drew Gress on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums, he offers a conservative, somewhat laid-back set.

Hersch’s most important musical attribute is the articulately crafted, intelligently conceived manner in which he presents his material and then uses it as a springboard into improvisation. Those qualities are present here in a program that includes Monk’s “Bemsha Swing,” Wayne Shorter’s “Miyako/Black Nile” and several originals. Like Terrasson, Hersch seems to have momentarily set aside his deeper musical probing, instead emphasizing the contemplative, rather than the exploratory qualities of his unquestioned musical inventiveness.