Chucho Valdés Quintet &
Bebo Valdés
BEBO VALDÉS (Piano)
CHUCHO VALDÉS (Piano)
Juan Carlos Rojas Castro (Drums)
Lázaro Rivero Alarcón - (Bass)
Yaroldy Abreu Robles - (Percussion)
Mayra Caridad Valdés - (Vocal)
Chucho Valdés
Chucho Valdés was born in Quivicàn-Provincia Habana, Cuba in the year 1941, son of the exceptional Cuban pianist & composer Bebo Valdés. Following an extensive piano playing education since childhood, he formed part of the orchestra Orquesta Sabor de Cuba, which was led and conducted by his father till the year 1961.
In 1963 he cut his first disc titled "Chucho Valdés y su Combo" at the same time as he was working as pianist with the orchestra Orquesta del Teatro Musical de La Habana conducted by Tony Taño. This disc opened up a new avenue in popular Cuban music, as a preamble to Irakere, the most important formation in the history of this Carribean island's music during the second half of the XXth century. This band was formed in 1973, when Chucho Valdés, after recording the disc "Jazz Bata" with Carlos D' Puerto & Oscar Valdés, decided to enlarge the trio, adding brass and drums.
In the year 1996 Chucho joined the young trumpet player Roy Hargrove to form the band "Crisol" together with other important musicians from Puerto Rico, the USA & Cuba, recording a disc titled "Habana".
In 1997 he received The Honarary Doctorate at the University of Victoria, (Canada), and in 1998, whilst not leaving Irakere, Chucho formed a quartet with a musical concept very different to that of Irakere, where the piano is the lead instrument. This quartet recorded "Bele Bele en La Habana", "Briyumba Palo Congo", "Live at the Village Vangard" & "New Conceptions" for the recording label Blue Note Records. He also cut three discs for the same label, but as a soloist ("Solo Piano", "Live in New York" & "Fantasía Cubana"). In addition he recorded a disc with only piano featuring all his own works titled "Canciones Inéditas" for the recording label Egrem.
Chucho has gone on tour in more than fifty countries, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, Blue Note NY, Village Vanguard and many others, and has recorded an average of 52 discs.
Over the period of his career Chucho has performed with figures of the stature of Herbie Hancock (dual pianos), Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Michel Legrand, Frank Emilio, Michel Camilo, Chano Domínguez, John Lewis, Chick Corea, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Brandford & Wynton Marsalis, Carlos Santana, Joe Lovano, Grover Washington Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, David Sánchez, George Benson, Taj Mahal, Max Roach, Jack Dejonnette, Ron Carter, Gato Barbieri, Tito Puente and with the following orchestras: Machito, Lincoln Center Big Band, Village Vanguard Orchestra, and the John Clayton Big Band. To date he has received five Grammy Awards and fourteen nominations.
Bebo Valdés
There are only two or three top figures remaining from the golden age of Cuban music; one of these is Bebo Valdés. He is affectionately called Caballón because of his enormous size, by those who know him. He is 89 years old and has a son named Chucho Valdés, the inspired creator of Irakere. Bebo began his professional career as a pianist in one of the most popular orchestras of the time, that of Julio Cueva, for whom he composed the mambo "La rareza del siglo".
The producer Norman Granz, excited about the reaction to Afro-Cuban jazz in New York, entrusted the first release of Cuban jazz to Bebo Valdés in 1952, which was recorded on the island. At that time, Valdes' orchestra "Sabor de Cuba" was listened to on the radio the length & breadth of the island, to the delight & enjoyment of its dancers. One of his vocalists was Beny Moré, "el bárbaro del ritmo", who he inspired to form his own Big Band. Bebo had created a new rhythm, la batanga, which didn't get the success it deserved because of the fierce competition from Pérez Prado's mambo whose sales veritably swept the board with the hit "El cerezo rosa".
His son Chucho remarks: "I consider myself as a very privileged child. In the first place, by being the son of one of Cuba's best pianists, and a very original composer & arranger. Bebo's music can be recognised although it isn't signed by him. At home I saw Celia Cruz, Osvaldo Farrés; and saw how the expression of feeling was brought about with César Portillo, Elena Burke, Omara Portuondo, & la Sonora Matancera. I was brought up in an environment where all the artistic movement in La Habana took place because Bebo was one of the basic arrangers for just about everyone, and for all the soloists: Laserie, Fernando Álvarez, Pío Leyva, Celeste Mendoza." Accompanied by Laserie, Bebo set off on the road to exile on 26 October 1960.
After spending some time in Mexico as musical director to Lucho Gatica, he went to Europe with the Havana Cuban Boys, finally settling down in Sweden. There in 1994 he discovered Paquito D'Rivera, with whom he recorded "Bebo rides again", not having set foot in a recording studio for ages. Later on, in the year 2000, his success was finally established as a result of his part in the project Calle 54 by Fernando Trueba, with whom he reappeared in his film "El milagro de Candeal" together with Carlinhos Brown.
