Cucho Valdés is revered as one of Cuba's greatest jazz pianists.
He founded the Afro-Cuban jazz band Irakere that became the vanguard for Latin fusion in the 1970s and which spawned the likes of Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval. Like his father, Bebo Valdes (a legendary Cuban bandleader in the '50s), he shrouds the piano by virtue of his imposing stature.
With his mastery of technique and lightning-like speed, he synthesizes deep elements of classical music, Afro-Cuban folklore, popular music and jazz.
He has attained the status of a saint in Cuba for taking the nation's music to the rest of the world while remaining a mentor to young musicians back home.
Musicians:
CHUCHO VALDÉS - piano
REINALDO MELIÁN ALVAREZ - trumpet
CARLOS MANUEL MIYARES HERNANDEZ - tenor sax
LÁZARO RIVERO ALARCÓN - bass (bajo)
DREISER DURRUTHY BOMBALÉ - percussion, batá, vocals
JUAN CARLOS ROJAS CASTRO - drums (batería)
YAROLDY ABREU ROBLES - percussion
MAYRA CARIDAD VALDÉS - vocals
