Chuchito Valdés Quartet

Chuchito Valdés Quartet
88 Keys of Latin Jazz  
Wednesday, January 11, 2023 (Rescheduled from November 09, 2022)
7:45pm

Born and raised in Havana, Cuba, Chuchito Valdés has followed in the footsteps of his famed father Chucho Valdés, and grandfather Bebo Valdés, and continues the legacy of great piano players from Cuba.  This third generation of the Cuban jazz piano dynasty combines influences of Caribbean rhythms and jazz, Chuchito creates an exciting and energetic blend of spicy music that drives audiences wild.   This piano master captivates with his sensitivity and drives excitement with his dynamic band. “Chuchito Valdés displays the hell-bent intensity and daredevil technique of the elder Valdés-qualities recognized worldwide as hallmarks of Cuban Jazz,” claims The Reader/Chicago’s Arts & Culture Guide. He and his band have “reinvigorated age old Cuban musical forms, the venerable cha-cha-cha and mambo standards revitalized by the muscular virtuosity of a mostly younger generation of players,” says the Chicago Tribune.   

One of five children, Valdés was a child prodigy and had his first professional engagement at age 16.  Since then he has gone on to record and perform at festivals, clubs and concerts throughout the world, from Cuba and the Caribbean to North America, South America, and Europe. By the late 1990’s he has taken his father’s place in the renowned Cuban band Irakere, which he led for 2 years. Chuchito extensively studied classical music, harmony and composition and is recognized as a master of Cuban music including Son, Danzón, Cuban Timba and Guaguancó.  His original compositions and arrangements draw on classical harmonic and structural techniques. In his performances, his music draws on many styles including Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz, Bebop, Danzón, Cha-Cha-Cha, Son Montuno and more.