Chucho Valdés
- Composer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
He is the son of the noted Cuban composer/arranger/conductor Ramon
"Bebo" Valdes. Taught by his parents from the age of three to age six,
he began classes in piano, salsa, and music theory under Oscar M.
Bouffartique who taught him until his ninth birthday. He went on to
study at the prestigious Conservatory of Havana, beginning his career
playing in orchestras conducted by his father. By age sixteen he was
pianist for the Orquesta Moderna de Musica (Orchestra of Modern Music)
under the direction of Armondo Romeu. Additionally, he served as a
musician for the Havana Music Theater. In addition to his father,
Valdes' musical influences include the beloved Afro-Cuban vocalist
Benny More and the internationally renowned pianist and composer
Ernesto Lecuona. Valdes' father Ramon and Lecuona would help to create
a musical dialogue that ushered in an era marked by the fusion of
Afro-Cuban rhythms and European-derived Cuban Classical music.
Considered by many critics to be the most significant musician of
post-Revolutionary Cuba, Valdes continues to remain at the forefront of
artists who have successfully fused African, Afro-Cuban, and Afro-Latin
elements to Afro-American Jazz. As founder of the group Irakere (a
Yoruba word that means "forest"), Valdes' and his
co-musicians--trumpeter Arturo Sandoval among them--earned a Grammy Award for
Irakere in 1979. Valdes as a leader of a variety of groups from trios
to sextets has been nominated for several Grammy awards throughout the
1990s. In addition to the explosion of musical creativity from Cuba's
musicians in the 1940s onward, he has cited among his influences such
American Jazz musicians as Art Tatum, Duke Ellington, Erroll Garner, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie,
Hank Jones, Bill Evans, and McCoy Tyner. He continues to explore and chart
new musical territory, often featuring his vocalist sister Mayra
Caridad Valdes in his performances and recordings; recent
collaborations with Jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove in the group "Crisol" and
his solo piano performances and recordings are indicative of a
virtuosity and creativity that has become an indelible influence on
musicians of every genre around the world.
