Great flutist, composer, arranger, and album producer, Orlando Valle “Maraca” will become one of the highlights at the International Jazz Festival Koktebel Jazz Party, which will be held from September 12 through 15, in Crimea, Russia.
Maraca will arrive in Koktebel with a project he has been working on along with Cuban pianist Ramón Valle. Both artists have proven to be essential exponents of this genre internationally. Under the name Cuban Jazz Family, the musicians explore the repertoire by many classic Cuban composers, as well as common jazz standards arranged “the Cuban way” and original songs.
The program of activities of the Koktebel Jazz Party has also included other great artists such as US trumpet player Tom Harrel, singer Deborah Brown, drummer Jamal Thomas, and pianist Yakov Okun, and the Russian legend Valery Ponomariov, also a trumpet player.
On December 20, at 7:00 pm, Maraca will perform at the mythical Lincoln Center of New York with his project New Jazz Frontiers.
At the Big apple, the Cuban flutist will be accompanied by excellent instrumentalists like harpist Edgar Castañeda, pianist Ed Simon, bass player Luques Curtis, and drummer Daniel Freeman.
Thus, Orlando Valle will put an end to 2014, which has been a busy year among concerts, tours and recordings. His latest album Todo o nada has been recently released for sale online. It is considered to be a strong bet by the musician on jazz as one of his favorite genres.
Maraca’s life has been marked by his meteoric professional career. He joined Irakere band, she shared some time with Emiliano Salvador and his band Otra vision, and he was nominated to a Grammy award in 2003 with the album Tremenda Rumba.