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Three Generations of Valdes
featuring Chuchito Valdes and
The Chicago Jazz Orchestra
Review
of concert from Chicago Tribune (pdf)
 Chuchito Valdes
represents a third generation of Cuban
musicians who have contributed significantly
to the development of Latin jazz. Chuchito's
grandfather, Bebo Valdes (b 1918), was a
major pianist, composer and arranger in Cuba
before the Castro revolution. He was
the musical director of the famous Tropicana
Orchestra at the Tropicana Club in Havana
and recorded extensively. Chuchito's
father, Chucho Valdes (b. 1941), is also a
very famous leader, having lead the famous
Cuban group Irakere, that birthed numerous
famous musicians including Paquito D'Rivera
and Arturo Sandoval as well as Chucho
himself. Chucho Valdes has gone onto
an illustrious career including extensive
recordings for the Blue Note label.
Now third generation Chuchito Valdes is
making his mark. Nominated in 2007 for
a Latin Grammy (results pending as of this
writing), Chuchito is also a superb pianist
and bandleader. His Afro-Cuban
Ensemble performs contemporary Afro-Cuban
originals composed by him as well as
original arrangements of classic Latin jazz
by his father and grandfather.
The Chicago Jazz Orchestra performs with
pianist Chuchito Valdes and his ensemble
with arrangements of his grandfather, his
father, and himself, all great
pianists. Many of these arrangements
have been transcribed by the Chicago Jazz
Orchestra conductor, Jeff Lindberg, and are
premieres in the United States.
> Also available with local,
regional or college big bands
"CJO conductor
Jeff Lindberg dared to address repertoire
penned by three generations of the celebrated
Valdes family. Yet the most striking
aspect of the concert was not the majesty of
the repertory, which is well known, but the
CJO's eloquence in an idiom it does not often
explore.
Whether dispatching a bolero or a cha cha cha,
whether dipping into the Valdes family
songbook or pushing beyond it, the CJO sounded
as if it were born to play Afro-Cuban music.
The soloists, too, outdid themselves, with
trumpeter Tito Carrillo cultivating a gorgeous
tone in Chucho Valdes' "Claudia" and alto
saxophonist John Wojciechowski finding shades
of blue in much of the Valdes songbook.
When the CJO plans its next recording, it
should consider precisely this project."
Howard Reich
Chicago Tribune
Downloads
Chuchito
Valdes
>
Chuchito
Valdes Bio (pdf)
>
Chuchito
Valdes Reviews (pdf)
>
Review
from The Indianpolis Star (pdf)
>
Chuchito
Valdes Interview San Jose Mercury (pdf)
The Chicago
Jazz Orchestra
>
Chicago Jazz Orchestra Biography (pdf)
>
2007 - 2008 Programs (pdf)
>
Ravinia
Festival Battle of the Bands Review (pdf)
>
Downbeat
Review of Clark Terry and The Chicago Jazz
Orchestra (pdf)
Audio
Three_Generations_of_Valdes_01
(mp3)
Three_Generations_of_Valdes_02
(mp3)
Three_Generations_of_Valdes_03
(mp3)
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