When Jazz at Lincoln Center opened its beautiful new Rose Hall facility last October, I swore never to enter the joint wearing less than a jacket and tie. I could hear the voice in my head of Miss Adelaide from “Guys and Dolls” admonishing me, “Leave us not conduct ourselves like a slob!”

But Wednesday night, the heat and humidity were so overbearing I couldn’t stand the thought of a suit. And the first week in the Latin in Manhattan series at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola seemed a perfect opportunity to wear one of my many Hawaiian shirts. I was disappointed to find that I was virtually the only person so attired – that is, until star and pianist Hilton Ruiz took the stage, and he also was wearing one.

I first heard Mr. Ruiz 30 years ago, when he played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He was instantly recognized as a powerful and thoughtful player who could bring new life to Afro-Latin styles, as well as play traditional bebop piano. He performed with Tito Puente, the late percussionist and Latin bandleader supreme. He was the Mambo King’s pianist and at least once, at Town Hall about 10 years ago, his opening act.

This week’s performances were announced as a tribute to Puente, though actually the music is merely dedicated to his memory – quite a different thing, but no less enjoyable. The evening started well with an exciting Cuban-style piece, but it got bogged down in a long, static percussion episode that didn’t go anywhere. For whatever reason, Mr. Ruiz did not solo on the opener, but instead afterward indulged in a long joke (regarding a traveling salesman, but with a surprisingly clean ending). From there, the band began to hum.

Mr. Ruiz’s two principal co-stars are among the most dependably exciting masters of their instruments around: Lew Soloff on trumpet and Lew Tabackin on tenor saxophone and flute. The rhythm section was Leon Dorsey on bass, Sylvia Cuenca on trap drums, Wilson “Chembo” Corniel on congas, and “Sweet Sue” Terry, an alto saxophonist. I’d never heard her before, and she surprised me by holding her own against formidable competition.

For the second piece, the septet tore into a 12-bar Latin minor blues, which Mr. Ruiz later announced as “Home Cookin’.” Mr. Tabackin, one of the few tenors who came of age in the 1960s who sounds more like Sonny Rollins than John Coltrane, is particularly strong in a Latin context. For a solo feature, he played Juan Tizol’s “Gypsy Without a Song.” Mr. Ruiz then called a fast bop number, with minimal Latin effects, that he had just written as a feature for Ms. Cuenca.

Usually the drum solo is the finale of a jazz set, but Mr. Ruiz called one more tune: “Fly Me to the Moon,” a joint dedication to Frank Sinatra and Puente – who, Mr. Ruiz explained, frequently told interviewers he wanted to play there. Mr. Soloff took the main melody in a manner that recalled Miles Davis in his less-agonized mode, and the two saxophonists riffed behind. The set lacked direction, but throughout Mr. Ruiz dished out spectacular keyboard fireworks in all manner of styles: montuno patterns, boogie woogie, block chords. He is a brilliant player, and always entertaining.

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For a real retrospective of Tito Puente’s career, however, check out a new two-CD package from the newly merged Sony-BMG corporation, “The Essential Tito Puente” (RCA Legacy 69243). This is exactly what such a package should be: 40 tracks I can’t stop playing, full of contagious rhythms, explosive horn ensemble blasts, and dancing solos.

Hilton Ruiz until July 17 (Broadway, at 60th Street, 212-258-9595).