Winner of six Grammy and three Latin Grammy Awards, the Cuban pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdés is the most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz. In a rich career spanning sixty years, Chucho has pushed boundaries in pursuit of new expressions in Afro-Cuban music. His influence in the genre is immeasurable, his work establishing the standard by which younger generations set out to create their own.
Chucho’s musical education includes formal studies and countless nights on the best stages in Cuba as the pianist with his father, Bebo Valdés, and his orchestra Sabor de Cuba, and with the seminal Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. Chucho is perhaps best known as the founder, pianist, and main composer and arranger of Irakere, a landmark ensemble in Cuban music. Chucho led Irakere for more than 30 years, but since 2005 he has focused on his personal career, highlighting his work as a pianist and leading small ensembles, like the Afro-Cuban Messengers, Jazz Batá, and his acclaimed Quartet.
Celebrating his 80th birthday in 2021, Chucho’s technique and creative output are as prodigious as ever. He is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, has been inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received a DC Jazz Festival Lifetime Achievement Award, his name joining an illustrious list that includes Kenny Barron, James Moody, Ellis Marsalis, George Wein, and Dave Brubeck.
There are no tour dates listed for this artist.
HI-RES IMAGES
^ Photo Credit: OCP Photography Miami
VIDEO
Chucho Valdes ‘” Jazz Batá 2 EPK (Embed/Download)
Jazz Batá 2 at Tourcoing Jazz Festival Ochún (Embed)
The Maestro: The Life & Legacy of Chucho Valdés by Ross Eustis and SFJAZZ (Embed)
Chucho Valdés with the Orquesta Sinfonia Nacional de Cuba (Embed/Download)
BIOGRAPHY/PROGRAM NOTES
Biography: Download (doc)
Biography (Spanish): Download (doc)
Jazz Batá Program Notes: Download (doc) Note: please check lineup with IMN Marketing before going to print
Official Website: www.valdeschucho.com
Label Comanche Music
CURRENT RELEASE
Jazz Batá 2 (November 16, 2018)
PRESS REQUESTS
Lorena Salcedo
management@acmmusic.us
QUOTES
“As a pianist, composer and arranger, Chucho Valdés has become one of the most influential figures in modern Afro-Cuban jazz”
Billboard
“A pianist of imperial command, possessed of a dazzling, deceptively casual virtuosity”
The New York Times
“An encyclopedic vocabulary of Afro-Cuban rhythms and an expansive palette that includes all manner of modern jazz as well as traditional classical repertoire”
The Boston Globe
“El maestro Chucho Valdés is one of the great treasures of the music world… Valdés grounds his work in the aural history of mother Cuba, while seamlessly weaving in aspects of folk, jazz and classical to create a singular musical vision”
DownBeat
Please contact IMN’s Director of Marketing with any additional questions.
The iconic Chucho Valdes treated fans to a Facebook Live concert yesterday from his home near Miami. Watch below and catch another amazing performance tomorrow at 3:15PM EST at www.facebook.com/valdes.chucho
Posted Mar 18th, 2020
Congratulations to Chucho Valdes, Gilberto Gil, and all the other winners at the 2019 Latin GRAMMY Awards! BEST LATIN JAZZ/JAZZ ALBUM: Jazz Batá 2 By Chucho Valdés (Label: Mack Avenue Music Group) BEST MPB (MUSICA POPULAR BRASILEIRA) ALBUM: Ok Ok Ok by Gilberto Gil (Label: Biscoito Fino) To see a full list of the winners click here
Posted Nov 15th, 2019
From The Santa Barbara Independent Chucho Valdés Interviewed: Masterful Pianist Brings Afro-Cuban Music to Town By: JOSEF WOODARD “When it comes to Cuban jazz ‘” and Cuban music, generally ‘” the name Chucho Valdés looms large, almost regal. The masterful pianist and musical adventurer has helmed multiple hybrid projects over the past 50 years, including his longstanding Cuban/jazz fusion band...
Posted Oct 15th, 2019
From The Jazz Journal Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz: The Music Of Chucho Valdés & Irakere By: DAVE JONES “This could quite easily have been separated into two very worthwhile and possibly more detailed books ‘” one explaining the complexities of Afro-Cuban Jazz, and the other celebrating the work of Chucho Valdés and Irakere. As it stands it’s a very interesting and...
Posted Jun 25th, 2019
From The Bay State Banner Chucho Valdes named Harvard’s 2019 Jazz Master-in-Residence By: Celina Colby Last week the vibrancy of Cuba came to the stark, puritan halls of Harvard University in full musical swing. During the week the University celebrated their 2019 Jazz Master-in-Residence, Chucho Valdes. A Cuban pianist, composer and arranger, Valdes has made significant contributions to the contemporary...
Posted Apr 18th, 2019
From SFJAZZ The Maestro: The Life & Legacy of Chucho Valdés Edited/Produced by Ross Eustis A film produced by SFJAZZ celebrating the life and legacy of Cuban piano legend Chucho Valdés, the honoree of the SFJAZZ Gala 2019 on January 31, 2019, featuring heartfelt words from Chucho’s many friends and collaborators including Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Christian McBride,...
Posted Feb 4th, 2019
From San Francisco Chronicle: Datebook Nancy Pelosi drops in on SFJazz gala, adding to fete’s many surprises By: Aidin Vaziri Nancy Pelosi ended a frenetic workweek by popping into the SFJazz Center on Thursday, Jan. 31, to shimmy along with the intoxicating jazz melodies of Chucho Valdés. The House speaker was a surprise guest at the organization’s annual gala honoring...
Posted Feb 1st, 2019
From SFJAZZ THE MAESTRO: CHUCHO VALDÉS IS THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CUBAN MUSIC By: Richard Scheinin Chucho Valdés ‘” the pianist, the bandleader, the composer, the Maestro ‘” is 77 years old and he is not slowing down. To hear him speak, one would think his career were at its midpoint, that he hadn’t already spent a good...
Posted Jan 31st, 2019
From Datebook – The San Francisco Chronicle SFJazz to honor Cuban jazz giant Chucho Valdés By: Andrew Gilbert […] On Thursday, Jan. 31, [Chucho Valdés] gets the royal treatment at the 2019 SFJazz Gala. In recent years, Valdés has forged a singular relationship with SFJazz, and Thursday’s concert offers an unprecedented window into his vast contributions and legacy. The brimming...
Posted Jan 24th, 2019
From Billboard The 20 Best Latin Albums of 2018: Critics’ Picks By: Billboard Staff While the worlds of streaming and radio were urban-dominated in 2018, the landscape of albums in Latin music was vast, experimental and hugely satisfying. Here are Billboard’s Latin editors’ 20 favorite albums of 2018. Chucho Valdés, Jazz Batá 2 Chucho Valdés’ Cuban jazz masterpiece honors his...
Posted Dec 19th, 2018
Congratulations to Chucho Valdes, who was honored today by the Latin Grammys with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Posted Nov 13th, 2018
From The Wall Street Journal ‘Jazz Batá 2’ by Chucho Valdés and ‘The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions’ Reviews By: Larry Blumenfeld Mr. Valdés has never lost sight of the influences of Cachao and of his own father, Bebo, who were childhood friends in Cuba’“nor of American musicians that inspired generations of Cubans (he quotes Ellington and Gershwin on ‘Chucho’s Mood’)....
Posted Nov 10th, 2018
From Billboard Chucho Valdés Honors Father Bebo With a Cuban Jazz Masterpiece By: Judy Cantor-Navas Chucho Valdés’ opening concert at Barcelona’s Voll-Damm International Jazz Festival celebrated both his new album, Jazz Batá 2, and the centennial of the birth of his father, Bebo Valdés. Near the end of the show, the renowned Cuban pianist — who will receive a Lifetime...
Posted Nov 6th, 2018
From The Colombia Daily Tribune Notes and Tones: Valdes shows off boundless curiosity By: Jon W. Poses It’s virtually impossible not to be excited when pianist Chucho Valdés issues a new recording ‘” for more than one reason. First, in my humble opinion, having seen him perform on a number of occasions from a privileged vantage point only a few...
Posted Nov 5th, 2018
From NBC News Chucho Valdés, Gloria Trevi among stars honored at Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards By: Erika Angulo Legendary Latin singers and the lesser-known songwriters who have made them famous were honored at the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards. Six-time Grammy winner and jazz pianist Chucho Valdés, acclaimed ballad singer Raphael and Argentine-American singer-songwriter Claudia Brant were...
Posted Oct 22nd, 2018
From Jazziz Chucho Valdés Revisits Seminal 1972 Recording with a Sequel 46 Years Later By: Matt Micucci Chucho Valdés is one of the most highly accomplished and influential figures in the world of Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz. With his latest album, Jazz Batá 2, he revisits one of his most ambitious works: the small-group concept of his 1972 Cuban album...
Posted Sep 26th, 2018
From WBGO Chucho Valdés Toasts a Lineage As Well as a Heritage with His New Album, Jazz Bata 2 By: Nate Chinen […] Now Chucho Valdés is about to release a new album, Jazz Batá 2, that burnishes his stature as a towering Afro-Cuban pianist of our time, while reclaiming a meaningful chapter from his past. The album is due...
Posted Sep 21st, 2018
From The Latin Recording Academy® The Latin Recording Academy® to honor Erasmo Carlos, Dyango, Andy Montañez, José María Napoleón, Chucho Valdés, Wilfrido Vargas, and turi with the Lifetime Achievement Award MIAMI (August 29, 2018) ‘” The Latin Recording Academy® announced today that Erasmo Carlos, Dyango, Andy Montañez, José María Napoleón, Chucho Valdés, Wilfrido Vargas, and Yuri will receive this year’s...
Posted Aug 29th, 2018
From SFJAZZ CHUCHO VALDÉS AND IRAKERE: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION By: Richard Scheinin It was June 1989 and 27-year-old Rebeca Mauleón arrived early at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, making her way toward the front of the room. It was packed and Mauleón wanted to make sure she had a clear view of the keyboard. She was there to see...
Posted Jul 23rd, 2018
From Billboard Gloria Trevi & Chucho Valdes Among 2018 Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Honorees By: Jessica Roiz The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame has revealed which five songwriters will be inducted at the prestigious hall this year. Joining last year’s honorees, which including Erika Ender, Carlos Vives and Ana Gabriel, to name a few, are Gloria Trevi, Chucho Valdés,...
Posted Jul 12th, 2018
From The Charleston Chronicle The Chronicle Interviews Chucho Valdes: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Superstar with Soul By: Hakim Abdul-Ali In the worlds of musical tastes there are some good musicians and, in other considerations, there are some who are simply superlative beyond descriptions. On Wednesday, May 31, 2018, I had a distinct opportunity in interviewing one such superb musical royalty, one...
Posted Jun 7th, 2018
From The Post and Courier Review: Chucho Valdes forges American connections By: Leah M Suarez Somebody better check the roof at the the Gaillard Center. A giant of a man left his mark. Pianist Chucho Valdés and his mighty quartet executed flawlessly, bringing a welcomed vitality to this year’s Spoleto jazz series for its pinnacle jazz performance. The hall’s energy...
Posted Jun 1st, 2018
From the Charleston Post & Courier At this year’s Spoleto, Chucho Valdes brings the rhythm By: Aaron Halls A the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City earlier this year, acclaimed Cuban jazz pianist Chucho Valdes nods his head, topped in a black beret, in sync with the rhythm. His fingers fly across the keys. The audience is transfixed....
Posted May 31st, 2018
From Charleston City Paper The Chucho Valdes Quartet proves that Cuban jazz is the best jazz By: Stratton Lawrence At once relaxed and full of energy, the band took us on a ride that was both soothing and invigorating. “This is literally a high point,” said Ranky Tanky drummer Quentin Baxter as he introduced the band. He was absolutely right....
Posted May 31st, 2018
From the Charleston City Paper Chucho Valdes and his quartet live in the moment By: Vincent Harris It would be difficult to tell the history of Cuban music, and Cuban jazz specifically, without mentioning Chucho Valdes. As a pianist, bandleader, and composer whose career has spanned five decades, Valdés is a towering figure in the jazz genre. […] What’s perhaps...
Posted May 28th, 2018
From The Philadelphia Tribune Chucho Valdes brings Afro-Cuban rhythms to Annenberg By: Rita Charleston Known the world over as a musical giant, the Afro-Cuban musician combines his fascinating blend of African, South American, Cuban and Spanish musical traditions to rate a category all his own. Admitting he enjoys all kinds of music, but by the ’70s Valdes started to play...
Posted Apr 11th, 2018
From The Chicago Tribune Review: Valdes and Rubalcaba: Cuban keyboard giants at Orchestra Hall By: Howard Reich Two concert grands. Two colossal virtuosos. One indelible evening. Granted, listeners who packed Orchestra Hall in Symphony Center on Friday evening already had high hopes for Cuban piano masters Chucho Valdes and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, judging by the long and raucous ovation that greeted...
Posted Feb 25th, 2018
From JazzTimes Jazz-Related Grammy Award Winners Announced Winners in these jazz-related categories at the 60th annual Grammy Awards were announced today in New York City, during the pre-telecast ceremony. The full lists of nominees appear below, with the winners in bold. JT wishes to congratulate all of the victors and nominees. Best Instrumental Composition: ‘Alkaline’ Pascal Le Boeuf, composer (Le...
Posted Jan 29th, 2018
From Cubarte: Portal de la Cultura Cubana Chucho Valdés, toda la genialidad del jazz By: Alain Valdés Sierra Chucho Valdés es un extra clase, siempre tiene un as bajo la manga para sorprender a quienes piensan lo conocen del todo; sus mejores invenciones puede superarlas con una genialidad que deja boquiabiertos a los más exigentes seguidores del jazz. Así mostró...
Posted Jan 16th, 2018
From The Guardian Chucho Valdés/Gonzalo Rubalcaba review ‘” Cuban wizards conjure a pulsating piano stampede By: John Fordham Between Friday morning’s opening shows and the arrival of Cuban piano maestros Chucho Valdés and Gonzalo Rubalcaba at the Barbican on Saturday afternoon, some 40 events of the EFG London jazz festival’s 2017 programme had already hurtled by, with 300 or more...
Posted Nov 13th, 2017
From Downbeat Magazine Valdés Puts Efflorescent Pianism on Display at Blue Note By: Ted Panken Most 75-year-olds residing in Miami, Florida, aspire to a comfortable retirement. Not so for master pianist-composer Chucho Valdés, who keeps homes there and in Malaga, Spain, with his wife and 10-year-old son, while sustaining a busy touring schedule in various contexts. One of those contexts...
Posted May 13th, 2017
From Associate Press Havana Named As Host City For 2017 International Jazz Day NEW YORK (AP) ‘” Herbie Hancock has twice before visited Havana to perform intimate solo-duet concerts with his Cuban counterpart Chucho Valdes, but at the end of April the two renowned jazz pianists will be collaborating on a grander scale. Hancock and Valdes will be serving as...
Posted Apr 11th, 2017
Be sure to tune in at jazzday.com on April 30th to watch the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert featuring performances by IMN artists Regina Carter and Chucho Valdés – who will also be acting as one of the event’s Artistic Directors – and many other jazz stars from around the world. To see more click here
Posted Apr 11th, 2017
From REMEZCLA_ Film Feature: Grammy Winner Chucho Valdés On Improvising the Musical Score for Cuban Film ‘Esteban’ By: Manuel Betancourt he Havana Film Festival New York kicked off its 18th annual program with Jonal Cosculluela’s inspiring Esteban. The movie tells the rousing story of a young Afro-Cuban boy (Reynaldo Guanche) who suddenly becomes inspired to learn how to play the...
Posted Apr 3rd, 2017
From Prensa Latina Chucho Valdes Opens 32th International Jazz Festival in Cuba The 32nd edition of the International Jazz Plaza Festival has began in Cuba, with a performance by legendary pianist, Chucho Valdes, which was described as historical and unrepeatable. Valdes himself said, ‘this is without rehearsal, if we do it a thousand times, a thousand times will be different.’...
Posted Dec 16th, 2016
From NPR’s alt.latino Cuba is back in the news this week with the death of Fidel Castro, the leader of the island nation’s government for almost 60 years. All eyes have been on southern Florida as the Cuban-American community there celebrates closure for a disruption to their lives that started after Castro took power in 1959. However, the fact that...
Posted Nov 30th, 2016
From The Wall Street Journal By Larry Blumenfeld ‘Tribute to Irakere (Live in Marciac) Review – A reminder of how pianist Chucho Valdés changed the course of Cuban music. When pianist Chucho Valdés presented ‘Irakere 40’ at New York’s Town Hall earlier this month, he rekindled the sound of a band with which he changed the course of Cuban music...
Posted Dec 1st, 2015
From The Boston Globe By Jon Garelick Chucho Valdés and band summon spirit of Irakere Performances of instrumental music often embody a tension between virtuoso display and the casting of narrative spells: look-no-hands acrobatics and the dream-like weave of ancient storytelling. The generous performance by iconic Cuban pianist-composer Chucho Valdés and his Afro-Cuban Messengers, in a Celebrity Series of Boston...
Posted Nov 13th, 2015
From CNN Espanol El rey del Latin Jazz, Chucho Valdés Watch Chucho’s CNN interview on Irakere past and present here
Posted Nov 12th, 2015
From The New York Times By Nate Chinen Chucho Valdés, the Pianist, Reflects on Irakere and His Career Chucho Valdés, the eminent Cuban pianist, bandleader and composer, carries himself with a sly balance of statesmanlike deliberation and youthful gusto. One day last month, not long before his 74th birthday, he folded his big frame onto a couch in a Midtown...
Posted Nov 2nd, 2015
From UMS Lobby by Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof Growing up with Bebo: Cuban Pianist Chucho Valdés Saying that Chucho Valdés grew up in a musical household is like saying that Chelsea Clinton’s parents had an interest in politics. Chucho’s father, Bebo Valdés, was one of the most important composers, arrangers, and performers in pre-revolutionary Cuba. In the 1940s, when many top nightclubs...
Posted Oct 29th, 2015
From The Guardian Chucho Valdes/Irakere review ‘” a Cuban hurricane of brass and bata Irakere may be Grammy-winning legends of Cuban music, but they don’t bring on genial gents in white flat caps just to sing serenades of old Havana. Now celebrating their 40th anniversary under the brilliant pianist Chucho Valdes’s continuing leadership, Irakere are a hurricane where the Buena...
Posted Jul 22nd, 2015
Quartet Rider: Download (pdf)
Seamlessly joining Afro-Cuban rhythms with New Orleans jazz and Western classical traditions, Chucho Valdés’ symphonic repertoire celebrates a genre he helped to build. Chucho’s musical education includes formal studies and countless nights on the best stages in Cuba as the pianist with his father, Bebo Valdés, and his orchestra Sabor de Cuba, and also the seminal Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. In the early 70s, Chucho distilled his experiences into the foundation of Irakere, an ensemble that marked a before and after in Afro-Cuban jazz. Chucho was the director, pianist, main composer and arranger of Irakere for more than 30 years. But since 2005, he has focused on his personal career, highlighting his work as a pianist and leading small ensembles. Now in his mid-70s, Chucho’s technique and creative output are as prodigious as ever. Chucho is available to perform with orchestras as a soloist or with his Jazz Batá quartet.
‘Irakere’ means ‘forest’ in the Yoruba language of West Africa. Four decades ago, Chucho Valdés founded Irakere, a revolutionary band that introduced African drum traditions to Cuban dance music. A small, Cuban-style big band with an explosive mix of jazz, rock, classical, Afro-Cuban and traditional Cuban music, Irakere was discovered by Dizzy Gillespie in a visit to Havana on a 1976 jazz cruise. In 1978 CBS producer Bruce Lundvall signed the band for the label. After winning a Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1979, the group went on to create an extraordinary body of work that includes great dance recordings such as Homenaje a Beny Moré (Pimienta 1989) and Indestructible (Sony 1997); explorations of Afro-Cuban religious music such as Babalu Ayé (Bembe 1999) featuring the great Orisha music singer Lázaro Ros; as well as ambitious projects such as Tierra En Trance (Areito 1983) and Misa Negra (Messidor 1987).
With the fresh sound of his Afro-Cuban Messengers, Chucho Valdés honors Cuba’s African roots with an Irakere revival.
VIRTUAL OFFERINGS:
In an intimate solo performance & talk Maestro Valdés provides a sampling of 20th Century Cuban Piano including pieces from Bebo Valdés, Ruben Gonzales, Frank Emilio, among others who forged the rich character of the Afro-Cuban diaspora.