Oscar Valdes and Diakara.
One of the legendary members and founders of the revolutionary band Irakere—which is, without a doubt, the alma mater of Cuban contemporary music—is Oscar Valdés, an extraordinary singer and an out of this world drummer.
With the group Diákara, they'll be playing a very special concert tomorrow, Friday, 12 August, starting at 11 p.m. at the "La Zorra y el Cuervo" (The fox and the crow) jazz club.
For those who don't know them, here they are: Díakara is a project that is distinguished by their high performance quality; and since the 90's, they've positively influenced the musical field by delivering a very original sound.
Oscar Valdés and Díakara's young members support their work through a rigorous investigation of our roots, and innovative rhythms that break the guidelines placed on music. They always try to promote danceable arrangements of great vivacity, without discarding any genre within their repertoire, whether it's Afro Latin Jazz or concert music.
Seeing Oscar Valdés on stage tapping his "arará," "batá" and "abacuá" drums, taking peculiar sounds from "chequerés," "erikundis" and "cencerros," it's a spectacle like no other. But not just Valdés solo, rather as a part of the musical and jazzy project Díakara, which integrates real national essence without abandoning universality, such as when Valdés sings in African dialects that form an insoluble part of our tradition.
Equally successful for their versatility and professionalism, Díakara has played with the famous poet and Cuban singer Silvio Rodríguez from 1990 - 1993. In their extraordinary repertoire, Díakara includes versions of Irakere's classics, as well as compositions by Herbie Hancock, Chano Pozo, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane, among other big figures in the jazz world. But, with their polychromatic style and "timba" label, they're a legacy to Irakere.
Concert tickets are $10.00 CUC per person, with cocktails available. The club's service hours are from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. every day.
Details:
23 Street between N and O, Vedado.
T: (537) 833 2402
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