By Shaun Dale & DJ Johnson

At 59, Jesus "Chucho" Valdes is a senior statesman of the post-embargo Cuban music scene. The son of pianist Bebe Valdes, Chucho began playing at age 3 and developed a reputation as a prodigy. His father was a mainstay of Havana's Tropicana club during the wide open days of the 1950s and the Valdes household welcomed many prominent jazz players. By this time, Chucho was studying classical piano and was, of course, exposed to son, panzon and other Cuban folk forms that had grown from Latin and African origins. From that exposure to US jazz, Cuban tradition and western classics would come the unique synthesis represented by the music of Chucho Valdes.

When Bebe Valdes left Cuba in 1961, his son remained behind. By this time, Chucho was well established in Cuban musical circles, but when the Kennedy administration began the embargo against Cuba that remains in force to this day, it made wider exposure for the younger Valdes problematic. Chucho continued to develop his music, though, taking a cue from the popularization of Afro-Cuban sounds by artists like Machito, Candido and those they inspired like Dizzy Gillespie. He deepened his knowledge of the African roots with studies in Yoruban rhythms and language, and absorbed the influences of pianists like Art Tatum, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson. In 1967 he formed the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderne, from which came Irakere, formed in 1973. During a modest thaw in US/Cuban relations under Pres. Jimmy Carter, Irakere appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1978. That performance was captured on tape, and in 1979 Irakere became the first post-embargo Cuban act to garner a contract with a US label when Columbia released the resulting album. That recording also produced Chucho Valdes first Grammy award. The next would come 19 years later for a project with trumpeter Roy Hargrove, which, coincidentally, featured another festival performance.

Although Chucho insists that "Music is music, music is not political," he admits that "The relations between the countries, that is hard, but the music is the music." One of the hard things about those relations produces as much pleasure as pain, as it turns out. Because of the challenges of booking a Cuban artist into a US recording studio, a great deal of the output of Chucho Valdes consists of live recordings, whether with Irakere, the Chucho Valdes Three or the Chucho Valdes Quartet. This includes the latest Blue Note release by the Quartet, Live At The Village Vanguard. The Vanguard, founded in 1935, is a New York jazz Mecca, and Valdes appreciates the legacy.

"The Vanguard has a great history," he told Cosmik's DJ Johnson. "Some of the best players, they made records live in the Vanguard. Coltrane and many others. For me, it's a big honor to play at the Vanguard."

The predominance of live recordings in the Chucho Valdes catalog is fitting, because he is a phenomenal improviser on stage, drawing from his own compositions and from an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz, pop and classical melodies as take off points.

Those that tend to push all Cuban music into a box labeled "salsa" might be surprised at Valdes' range, but he reaches well beyond his national roots. "I think of Cuba, of course, and of the Afro-Cuban music there, but I think of many, many other things, too. I think very much of Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Art Tatum, Cecil Taylor, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, so there are elements of Cuba and of jazz piano players."

In addition to his ensemble work, Valdes has begun to give more attention to solo concerts, where his musical range is extended even more widely. "I like very much to play solo," he told Cosmik. "I can play a fusion, Afro-Cuban jazz with jazz, with a little classical...I play totally free."

Valdes expects his next release to be of a recent solo concert at the Lincoln Center, which he describes as "my best piano solo." The opportunity to hear him at his best, solo or in any other format, is something to look forward to.

Until then, we have the new Village Vanguard release and the current tour of the Chucho Valdes Quartet to tide us over. I've had the pleasure of enjoying each lately, and the pleasure is nearly overwhelming.

The Quartet is Valdes with a trio of young Cuban players, Francisco Rubio Pampin on bass, Raul Pineda Roque on trap drums and Roberto Vizcaino Guillot on conga and bata drums. On the album, they are joined by another member of the musical Valdes clan, Chucho's daughter Mayra, on vocals for "Drums Negrita." His son, now residing in Mexico, is a former member of Irakere and his daughter Layani is studying classical piano in Milan, Italy, where at 18 she has already begun winning European competitions. Whether from his homeland, or within his home, Chucho Valdes gives as much attention to developing young talent as he does to developing his own inimitable music.

The album concentrates on Valdes' original compositions, along with the standard "My Funny Valentine." Of course, with Chucho Valdes at the keyboard and a Latin rhythm section beside him, this version of the venerable tune is anything but standard. At moments, he takes the song on an improvisational ride outside, without ever losing the melodic base. As the track closes, the rhythm section falls away while Chucho takes a pensive solo, before the ensemble closes with a typically Afro- Cuban flourish.

The next cut is equally noteworthy, and shows the mutual influences that drive bop and Afro-Cuban music (it should be remembered that be-bop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie was instrumental in introducing Afro-Cuban music to US jazz audiences). "To Bud Powell" is an unabashed musical love letter to the man Valdes describes as "....the best bebop player on the piano. He had a beautiful history. I know that some of the older players had some influence over Bud Powell, but I wanted to make a tribute to him in the Latin style."

As fine an album as Live At The Village Vanguard is, and I recommend it without reservation, it's a slight preparation for the experience of Chucho Valdes live. The stage at Seattle's Jazz Alley was crowded with implements of percussion, and I wondered for a moment how his piano would compete with a trap set that featured a five ride and crash cymbals, a high hat, three toms, bass, snare and both mounted and pedal cowbells along with four congas, a pair of bata drums and a double bass. My concerns were unwarranted. When Chucho Valdes takes the stage, he owns the stage. First, of course, there's his status as a pioneering master of modern Afro-Cuban music. Then there's the man himself, who, at 6'6", towers over his band and his instrument. Then there's his skill, his capacity to use the entire keyboard to produce every conceivable mood, from sensitively crafted solo meditations to furious, rhythmic attacks. Finally, there is the skill of the three rhythm players themselves. I was particularly impressed by Raul Pineda Roques' ability to use the entirety of his impressive trap set up with equally impressive restraint. When the time came, he could pound as furiously as the mood and moment required, but only when the time came. Bassist Guillot was similarly impressive, taking several notable solos.

Given the range of Valdes' book and the improvisational nature of his approach, I'm afraid I can't offer a complete set list. Easily recognizable, though, was a reprise of one of the album tracks, "My Funny Valentine," and a tour de force version of Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue." The version of "Valentine" he played that night was somewhat freer than the album take, with a longer solo turn. The "Rhapsody" was simply the finest performance I have ever heard of the Gershwin classic, live or recorded, with extended solos that drifted into "I'm Just A Lucky So And So" and then into previously uncharted territory before returning to the familiar theme.

Though he quickly points out that he plays in a different style, and for a largely well established audience, Chucho Valdes does acknowledge that the popularity of projects like the Buena Vista Social Club is having a favorable effect for Cuban artists in general, and that he is no exception. His status with Blue Note seems solid, with his two previous releases garnering Grammy nominations (Valdes has a total of five nominations and two awards for his various musical incarnations). His current tour continues, and if there's only one jazz show you're going to see while he's near your town, his is the one to go to. If he's not coming close enough soon enough, be sure to pick up a copy of Live At The Village Vanguard. In fact, if you just saw him yesterday, or you're going to see him tomorrow, be sure to pick up a copy of Live At The Village Vanguard. He's a marvel and the album is marvelous.

Track List -

Live At The Village Vanguard: Anabis * Son XXI (Para Pia) * Punto Cubano * My Funny Valentine * To Bud Powell * Drume Negrita * Como Tragio La Yuca * Ponle La Clave * Encore - Lorraine's Habanera


(C) 2000 - Shaun Dale & DJ Johnson