Saturday, 27 March 2010 20:02
Chucho Valdés
A simple man: that is exactly how to describe this man, whose birth name is Dionisio de Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, but who responds to the name Chucho Valdés.
And those 5 awards, impressive as they are, desired by musicians all over the world, haven’t changed this Cuban from the tiny village of Quivicán, on the outskirts of Havana. His father is the equally famous musician Bebo Valdés.
Chucho is a piano virtuoso, a fine composer, an astute musical arranger, with an enviable musical background and a knack for detecting and developing musicians: in short, he is an exceptional musical talent, and is always connected to his musical roots. He has been for many years the figure par excellence of Cuban jazz, and its best ambassador. This is why he is President (hopefully for life) of the annual International Jazz Festival of Havana.
In 1967, he was a member of the Cuban Modern Music Orchestra, which revolutionized the music scene in Cuba, and in 1973, along with the great Carlos Emilio Morales, started Grupo Irakere, a project that combined popular dance music and Latin jazz, but with new expressive elements. He collaborated with musicians such as Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D'Rivera. Since 1970, Chucho Valdés has been considered among the most innovative Latin jazz musicians, as well as one of its greatest global ambassadors.
I think that although all of the Grammys Chucho has earned since 1979 have been well deserved, the two that must have meant the most to him were the ones he won for playing with his father, Bebo, which was a dream that he had never realized while alive. I think the title of the two-time award-winning album says it all: "Juntos para siempre" (Together Forever), and you’ll see how important it was for these two great Cuban musicians to be together.
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