Chucho
Valdés (Dionisio de Jesús Valdés) 1941
 Pianist,
organist, composer and intrumentist. He was born in Quivicán,
Havana Province on October 9, 1941. Considered as one of the most
remarkable pianists from the musical universe, he is also one of
the four best jazzists of the entire world.
Since his early years, he started to play piano with his father,
the luminary musician Bebo Valdés and being 6, he formally
entered directly into the 4th year of his career, starting at 14
his professional career on Sabor de Cuba Orchestra under his father's
conduction.
As student of the Municipal Conservatoire of Havana, he worked
there with Ángela Quintana, being, later on, Zenaida Romeu
and Rosario Franco`s pupil, whose influences are considered important
for his musical development; graduating from University of Arts
(ISA) on Havana.
Before his 20, he was already a famous pianist, deciding afterwards
to integrate different Jazz groups. Starting the 60s, Chucho integrated
the orchestra from the Musical Theater of Havana, coinciding in
the professional labour with Leo Brouwer, Federico Smith and Alberto
Alonso. He was part, few years later of the Cuban Orchestra of Modern
Music, founding afterwards Irakere project together with guitarist
Carlos Emilio Morales. With this outstanding group, he developed
a significative labour, rescuing the Cuban music roots, handled
with new expressive resources.
His world-wide revelation as important exponent from the international
jazz movement was at the Jamberee Jazz Festival in Varsovia, 1970,
where he was placed among the five best jazzists of that moment
as faithful renovator of Latin or Afrocuban Jazz and amazing defender
of the Cuban jazzist message. Chucho Valdés has traveled to more than 50 countries performing at internationally acknowledged sceneries as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Amadeo Roldán and many others. He has recorded around 50 CDs.
His performance quality has been internationally recognized through
the granting of Doctor Honoris Cause Condition by Victoria de Canada
and Havana Universities and Félix Varela Medal also in Cuba,
keys of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Madison and Nevilly in United
States of America and Ponce`s Keys in Puerto Rico.
Master of all genres, Jazz, Classic and Popular Danceable Music,
he has teached masterful classes at Banff University in Canada,
Real Academy of Music in London, High Studies Center in Los Angeles
and San Francisco in California, USA.
He was bestowed with four Grammy Awards: in 1978 for Misa Negra
interpreted with Irakere Group;1996 with Havana, set recorded
with the trumpeter Roy Hargrove and a Cuban American Band, on 2001,
with his Live at the Vanguard Village, live concert in
this legendary Club of New York and on 2002 with his Canciones
Inéditas CD via EGREM, which gained Latin Grammy Award
as Best Instrumental Pop album.
Among his compositions, we can highlight: Mercy cha, Niña,
Por la libre, Valle Picadura (danzón), Misa Negra (for piano)
and Alamar among others. His original instrumentations
of popular pieces are considered a valuable contribution for the
Cuban musical development.
In August 2007 Chucho traveled to Europe with his father Bebo Valdés and the event was appraised as one of the most relevant of the year. After 47 years, father and son joined to show off the great international pianistic in which they mixed jazz and cuban rhythms.
Nowadays he is preparing himself to lead Varadero Jam Session Festival on its first edition. International meeting of jazzmen and jazz lovers to enjoy the best cuban jams.
More information about the event here.
See the artist dicography at www.discuba.com
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Descarga pa` gozar
Label: Bis Music
De tal palo.. tal Valdés
Label: AhiNamá
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