Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, better known as Chucho Valdés, is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger whose career spans over 50 years. An original member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, in 1973 he founded the group Irakere, one of Cuba's best-known Latin jazz bands. Both his father, Bebo Valdés, and his son, Chuchito, are pianists as well. As a solo artist, he has won four Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards.
Career
Chucho Valdés's first recorded sessions as a leader took place in late January 1964 in the Areíto Studios of Havana owned by the newly formed EGREM. These early sessions included Paquito D'Rivera on alto saxophone and clarinet, Alberto Giral on trombone, Julio Vento on flute, Carlos Emilio Morales on guitar, Kike Hernández on double bass, Emilio del Monte on drums and Óscar Valdés Jr. on congas. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, these would be the members of his jazz combo, whose lineup would often change, sometimes including bassists Cachaíto and later Carlos del Puerto, and drummers Guillermo Barreto and later Enrique Plá. In 1967, Chucho and his bandmates became founding members of Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, together with many other well-known Cuban musicians. This all-star big band would back singers such as Elena Burke and Omara Portuondo. In 1973, Chucho along with other members of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna founded Irakere, an ensemble that bridged songo and Afro-Cuban jazz. He would simultaneously continue his solo career, eventually signing with Blue Note Records, which allowed him to get international exposure. As a result, Chucho's work has received universal critical acclaim from the media, winning five Grammy awards. Chucho's father, Bebo, who attained a legendary status as the pianist and director the Tropicana Club orchestra and Orquesta Sabor de Cuba, fled Cuba in 1960, and did not record music again until the 1990s. In the late 1990s, Chucho decided to focus on his solo career, and his son Chuchito replaced him as the pianist/director of Irakere. Chucho and Bebo occasionally played together until the latter's death in 2013. Since 2010, Chucho performs with a backing band known as the Afro-Cuban Messengers. Chucho has spent much of his time teaching younger generations, either in his homeland of Cuba at the Havana National school, or elsewhere.
Awards and honors
Chucho has won four Grammy Awards as a solo artist:
Best Latin Jazz Album in 2011 for Chucho's Steps, with the Afro-Cuban Messengers
Best Latin Jazz Album in 2017 for Tribute to Irakere: Live in Marciac.
Other albums of his nominated for a Latin Jazz Album Grammy include Bele Bele en la Habana, Briyumba Palo Congo – Religion of the Congo and New Conceptions. He has also been part of two ensembles who have won Grammy Awards:
