Chucho Valdes
b. Jes£s Valds, 9 October 1941, Quivican, Cuba. A giant of Afro-Cuban jazz piano - it is said that the piano bench at the Teatro Nacional is permanently adjusted to fit him - Valds is the son of legendary pianist and composer Bebo Valds. Chucho was playing piano before he had even learned to walk properly, tutored by his piano-playing mother in addition to his father. He later played in several Cuban big bands of the 60s, forming his own jazz quartets inspired by American artists such as Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk. He co-founded the Orquestra De M£sica Moderna in 1967, but it was as musical director of the groundbreaking Irakere ensemble that Valds made his biggest impact on Cuban music. The all-star line-ups of this enduring band, which fuses jazz, Cuban ethnic music and rock, have included legendary Cuban musicians such as Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval. In 1978 they became the first modern Cuban group to sign a US recording contract.
Listen to Chucho Valdes
at Finetune.
Albums
- (2008) New Conceptions
- (2006) Virtuoso
- (2006) Virtuoso
- (2002) Fantasia Cubana - Variations On Classical Themes
- (2001) Solo - Live In New York
- (2000) Live At The Village Vanguard
- (2000) Live At The Village Vanguard
- (1999) Briyumba Palo Congo
- (1999) Briyumba Palo Congo
- (1998) Bele Bele En La Habana
- (1993) Solo Piano
Top Tracks
- Briyumba Palo Congo (Religion Of The Congo)
- Rhapsody In Blue
- Ponte La Clave (Put The Time On It)
- Bolero (Ballad)
- Caravan
Related Artists
- Tito Puente
- Buena Vista Social Club
- Ibrahim Ferrer
- Ruben Gonzalez
- Paquito D'Rivera
- Celia Cruz
- Irakere
- Compay Segundo
- Gonzalo Rubalcaba
- Afro-Cuban All Stars
- Afro-Cuban Jazz Project
- Afro Cuban All Stars
- Orguesta Sublime
- Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Pinero
- Mi Son
- Benny More
- Los Van Van
- Eliades Ochoa y el Cuarto Patria
- El Son Entero
- Trio Matamoros
Fans