Chucho Valdes

These are tracks taken from several records by different Cuban bands in which Chucho Valdés took part. The pieces range from bolero and salsa to cumbia and jazz. There is even a touch of unofficial mini Irakere with "Blues 1080." The recordings were done by UK label Tumi.

PLAYING LECUONA is a musical journey through the works and living spaces of Ernesto Lecuona, the internationally acclaimed pianist and piano composer from Latin America. Serving as guides through Lecuona’s music are the three most gifted Latin Jazz pianists in the world: Chucho Valdes, Michel Camilo, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Valdes fuses Latin Jazz together with Afro-Cuban rhythms in Lecuona’s native Havana; Camilo recreates elegant aural soundscapes in New York and the Canary Islands; and Rebalcaba fuses Jazz and Flamenco in Seville, the heart of Andalusia-Spain and a source of great inspiration to Lecuona. Together, these three musicians provide a rich portrait of Lecuona’s music and its influence.

Hace tres años, Nueva Orleans fue arrasada por el Huracán Katrina dejando tras de sí cerca de 1.500 muertos. Esta catástrofe fue la que inspiró al cubano Chucho Valdés para componer su nuevo disco, Canto a Dios, una oración para que "no vuelva a suceder nada igual", ha explicado hoy el músico. En este álbum, que se presenta ahora en España, Chucho Valdés (hijo del también músico cubano Bebo Valdés) ha reunido cinco temas, dos de ellos inéditos, en los que junto con la Orquesta y el Coro Nacional de Cuba fusiona el jazz con la música sinfónica en un tributo a la ciudad de Nueva Orleans, el río Misisipi y África.

The longevity and the durability of the musical relationship between Paquito D’Rivera and Chucho Valdés give a freedom and flexibility to these performances on I Missed You Too! that defies all logic; they certainly go way beyond the kind of politely mannered performances that might ensue when musical friends get together after what seems like an age. In the case of Mr Valdés and Mr D’Rivera it is a relationship that began when the latter was introduced to the former by a revered friend Samuel Téllez.

In 2009 Chucho Valdes, a pianist, instrumentalist, and composer who already had four Grammy Awards and is regarded by specialists as one of the top four jazz players of the world, won the Grammy in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album. He shared the award with his father, Bebo Valdes, with the album Juntos Para Siempre (Together Forever). Father and son, both Cuban piano virtuosos and exceptionally talented composers got together to record this example of their musical greatness after their tour “Juntos para siempre” in Spain.