In “Comillas, Chucho Valdés, one of the best pianists in the world, Wednesday, August 10,” Cantabria Direct announced that the Cuban pianist and composer Chucho Valdés will perform on the 19th edition of the Caprichos Musicales de Comillas festival (at the Palacio de Sobrellano in Comillas, Cantabria, Spain) on August 10, 2022.
The Cuban pianist, composer and arranger has left his mark in every group he has chosen to express himself with and in every musical style he has entered. Čuço has returned to the quartet format several times during his career, because for him “it’s like a laboratory”. Throughout his extensive career, he has been a pianist of large orchestras and the founder and director of Irakere, the ‘small big band’, achieving the fusion of Afro-Cuban ritual music with elements of Afro-Cuban folk music and classical music, jazz , and rock—a transcendental innovation in Latin jazz.
Chucho Valdés is considered one of the best pianists in the world. He is the winner of 7 Grammys and 4 Latin Grammys, in addition to the award for musical excellence from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. His name is in the Latin Singers Hall of Fame.
This concert, within the programs of the Caprichos Musicales de Comillasfestival, will be held at the Palacio de Sobrellano (Barrio Sobrellano s/n), at 10:00 p.m., and tickets can be purchased through the website: https://aramalikian. com/concierto/comillas-es-chucho-valdes-caprichos-musicales/ and at the Palace box office, one hour before the start of the show.
He will be accompanied on stage by Pedro Pablo Rodríguez (percussion), Reinier Elizarde Ruano (double bass) and Lukmil Pérez Herrera (drums). “The quartet fascinates me, it opens my imagination,” Chucho claims. “The quartet forces you to change conceptually, it makes you think differently. It’s a training that gives me all the melodic and harmonic possibilities, but also gives me the opportunity to delve into Cuban polyrhythms and African polyrhythms.” In his quartets, consisting of a bass, drums and percussion, “sometimes the piano is part of the percussion base”.
Dionisio Jesus ‘Chucho’ Valdés Rodríguez was born on October 9, 1941 in Quivicán, Havana, conductor of the Ramon ‘Bebo’ Valdés Orchestra of Cuba.
Valdes has accompanied singers, played in trios and written works for orchestras and large groups. The latest, ‘La Creación’ [Creation], is a set in three movements, for small ensemble, vocals and big band, which tells the story of creation according to the Rule of Ocha, the Afro-Cuban religion known as Santeria. ‘La Creación’ premiered in November 2021, to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Without a doubt, musically and personally, for Chucho Valdés, one of the most important events of 2022 has been the musical reunion with his old friend and companion in musical adventures, the clarinetist, saxophonist and composer Paquito D`Rivera. Over the past 42 years, their paths have rarely crossed, but they have played together again, recorded a new album, I missed you too [I Missed You Too]and embarked on a world tour to celebrate their reunion.
Translated by Ivette Romero. For the original and more information, see https://www.cantabriadirecta.es/77741-2-noticias-cantabria-santander-comillas-chucho-valdes/ and https://www.comillas.es/caprichos-musicales/
