{"id":311098,"date":"2024-10-10T16:51:32","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T20:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=311098"},"modified":"2026-02-11T11:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T16:59:16","slug":"impromptu-for-chucho-valdes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/impromptu-for-chucho-valdes\/","title":{"rendered":"Impromptu for Chucho Vald\u00e9s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chucho Vald\u00e9s turns 83. Celebrating another birthday goes beyond the celebration of existence, accumulated experience and longevity; it is also a reason to review a creative work as multifaceted as his.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dionisio Jes\u00fas Vald\u00e9s Rodr\u00edguez, Bebo\u2019s son, a long time ago stopped being known by his birth name. <\/span>The boy who went to see his father work with the great stars<\/span><\/a> of the golden age of Tropicana Cabaret, grew up. He did it, too, hardened by the piano keys, first under the aegis of Bebo, then encouraged by his permanent curiosity and interest in going further.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I write these lines as an impromptu, like a composition born without a preconceived plan. One by one these lyrics follow one another, while I remain absorbed by the wonder I have just witnessed: the giant, the king of Cuban jazz, on a piano solo <\/span>during his first and recent appearance at the\u00a0<\/b>Tiny Desk Concerts<\/i><\/b><\/a> \u2014 published on August 12th \u2014, the thrilling series of concerts on the radio program All Songs Considered on NPR Music.<\/span><\/p>\n

The corner of that radio office in Washington D.C. where the live session was recorded for years has brought together a diverse audience and shared joy among lovers of good music. That is why seeing Chucho Vald\u00e9s there \u2014 as happened with other Cuban artists before him \u2014 provokes at the same time curiosity and certainty that what is seen there is something unique; a complete delight.<\/span><\/p>\n

Three pieces. With his \u201cMambo influenciado\u201d and \u201cPonle la clave,\u201d the maestro demonstrated why he is a virtuoso. He re-adapts his creations, plays with them and exposes his mastery of the art of the piano, a bridge between generations, a reflection of an Afro-Cuban understanding of classical musical expression. With \u201cImpromptu Desk,\u201d Chucho demonstrated the ability to create a musical piece in situ, with an emotional and credible discourse.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jazz
Jazz Festival (2017). Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That creation in extremis reminded me of one of the last occasions when I was able to see him, live, playing the piano in Havana. It was August 2017, Grand Theater of Havana. A piano and a man on stage. \u201cDo you see what I have here?\u201d he said, while showing the audience a tiny piece of paper, whose content he immediately went on to explain. \u201cHere I have the first line of each of the compositions that I will play for you tonight,\u201d iconic pieces of the Cuban repertoire, from Lecuona to his own works, \u201cso I know how this begins, but not how it will end. So, if we repeat this concert tomorrow, I assure you that it will not be the same.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That ended, as Chucho has accustomed his audience, with the conviction that this man is an extraordinary creator, an immense artist.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This has been the case in each of the facets he has experienced, whether on piano solo, as an accompanist or in any of the formats that one can imagine (trio, quartet, jazz band\u2026). And there has been that luminous name that is Chucho Vald\u00e9s, shining alongside the Chinese Lang Lang \u2014 one of the best concert pianists in the world \u2014, in a symphonic format in the Plaza de la Catedral, or being the host of international jazz day in Havana in 2017 alongside Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding, Quincy Jones and dozens of great names of the genre in Cuba and the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jazz
Jazz Festival (2017). Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jazz
Jazz Festival (2017). Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was a privilege to see Chucho Vald\u00e9s play every weekend in a different place for ten Cuban pesos. It was tremendous,\u201d the New York-based Cuban pianist Dayramir Gonz\u00e1lez (Havana, 1983), told me in a recent conversation. Like so many musicians of his generation and those who have come after, Dayramir does not escape the influence of Chucho\u2019s piano, of his advanced Afro-Cuban jazz. Nor of the overwhelming history of Irakere.<\/span><\/p>\n

You cannot think of the character without taking into account the phenomenon he has mobilized, and it is clear that the second cannot be understood without the first. Chucho Vald\u00e9s and Irakere are an indelible mark on Cuban culture, with all that this implies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, when the celebration of the group that Chucho made known in 1973 was announced, the expectation was maximum and the enjoyment of those who have been able to experience it, colossal. That is known. <\/span>\u201cIrakere 50\u201d<\/b><\/a> is the name of the tour for the five decades of the great phenomenon of Cuban music. <\/span>That was the union, moreover, of three legends: Chucho, Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D\u2019Rivera.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is simple, Sandoval is super-gifted. Paquito, a genius. And it\u2019s not the same thing,\u201d says Chucho Vald\u00e9s in the documentary <\/span>\u201cChucho Vald\u00e9s featuring Irakere: Latin jazz founders,\u201d<\/b><\/a> by Ileana Rodr\u00edguez, about the history and different stages of one of the most pedigreed groups in Cuban music, whose repertoire is still enjoyed today by the most diverse audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the many friends I have had to say goodbye to in recent years, Alejandro Garc\u00eda, recently, last August, wrote to me from S\u00e9te, in the south of France. \u201cWe just saw him and it was great,\u201d he told me, referring to the last concert of Chucho Vald\u00e9s\u2019 European tour, Irakere 50, in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time has followed its course. Today, the album <\/span>Cuba and Beyond\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/a>(2024) is a reality, an exquisite hot cake, the latest creation of Chucho Vald\u00e9s and his current formation, Royal Quartet. \u201cIt is the most contemporary version of all my quartets,\u201d said the creator in the making of this album, which he shares with Robeto Jr. Vizcaino on percussion, Horacio \u201cEl Negro\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez on drums and Jos\u00e9 A. Gola on bass.<\/span><\/p>\n