Impossible to evoke Chucho Valdés without associating him with Afro Cuban jazz and vice versa. The son of Bebo Valdés, a pianist and bandleader and a pioneer of mambo, Chucho, himself a pianist, founded the legendary Irakere in 1973 and persevered for many years in playing jazz on an island, Cuba, where the slightest breeze from North America was generally regarded as carrying the imperialist contagion.
For this steadfastness, for the titanic work he has accomplished, and for his influence, which extends far beyond the sole circle of Cuban jazz musicians, Chucho has already entered into history.
Louis Julien Nicolaou
A pianist of exceptional technique, endowed with unmatched speed and virtuosity, he recorded seven albums for the Blue Note Records label between 1991 and 2003. Repeatedly honoured at the Grammy Awards as well as the Latin Grammys, he is above all the founder of the group Irakere, which popularised Afro-Cuban jazz throughout the world.
More than half a century after his debut, he now performs with the musicians of the Royal Quartet and welcomes numerous guests, spanning every generation, as he continues to experiment and to share his love of music, free from stylistic or aesthetic boundaries. And because, in Cuba, every concert ends with a conga, a term that refers both to the tall wooden drums covered with skin and to a four beat dance of African origin, this concert culminates in a great celebration, full of joy!
