Chuchito Valdés Jr. Bios

Chuchito Valdés, Jr.

Biographical notes on the headlining act of the Sixth Annual Brownsville Latin Jazz Festival
to be held from October 17th to 19th, 2002 in Brownsville, Texas.

BEING THE SON of one of the world's greatest pianists, Chucho Valdés, and grandson of one of the most influential artists in Afro-Cuban music, Bébo Valdés, must be hard. Yet for Jesus "Chuchito" Valdés Jr., it has been a natural evolution guiding him down a musical path very similar to his father's and grandfather’s.

At 36, he is the eldest son of a family of five and making a name for himself as a pianist, composer and arranger.

"I began studying classical music as a boy," says Chuchito. "When I was 13-14, I decided to put my piano studies aside and play baseball as a pitcher for the Cuban national team for my age group."

He dropped the piano briefly but soon returned to La Escuela de Música Ignacio Cervantes to specialize in classical as well as Cuban popular music until graduation.

His awareness of jazz rose around the age of 3 to 4 when he heard his father play records by Bill Evans, Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson, as well as popular Cuban players like Peruchin, Lili Martinez and Bébo Valdés, his grandfather. His first professional jazz stint was at age 16 with Cuban jazz vocalist and trumpeter Bobby Carcasses. From there, he accompanied a variety of popular singers like Pello El Afrikan, the king of the Mozambique style, Anibel Lopez, the sister of Silvio Rodriguez, and Sonido Contempora, a group that included such virtuoso alumni as Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Hilario Duran and others.

"We played a lot of jazz standards and were the only group in Cuba really doing that - tunes like 'On Green Dolphin Street,' 'Giant Steps' and 'All the Things You Are.' "

For Chuchito, the most important influence on him, aside from his father, is the original Irakere band. Weaned on the band as a young teenager, he spent two years playing in it in the late 1990s when his dad decided to pursue a solo career. It allowed him to tour the world alongside a fruitful cast that included trumpeter Julio Pedro and a budding generation of Cuban jazz artists.

"I have to say that the first Irakere band is my favorite. I would go with my father every day to rehearsals and see how Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D'Rivera would practice their passages. I experienced a great innovation in Cuban music, and it's one of the best things that's happened to me," he says from Chicago, where is he currently performing. "Jazz is a different language for us," he explains. "Be-bop is as hard to play as a Danzón. So you have to study a jazz piece to be able to interpret it the best possible way. What we take from jazz are the harmonic changes. It's very advanced and stretches chords beyond the seventh note. Jazz uses open and closed chords, polyphony and other things that we are drawing from to enrich Cuban music."

When Chuchito is not traveling around the world performing, he lives in Cancun, México where he leads his Afro-Cuban based Latin-Jazz ensemble.

Chuchito's first release, Encantado, features Australian saxophonist Laksar Reese. The two met in Cancun where the concept for "Encantado" was birthed. They visit many styles of Cuban music with a Jazz flair. Their rendition of Coltrane's "Giant Steps" burns on top of a traditional 6/8 rhythm. There is a free meditative piano solo based on Ellington's "A Train". Chuchito's original "Bolero in Chicago" is heartbreakingly beautiful. The stark melody line played in unison by piano and tenor with modern harmonic changes gracing the traditional Bolero form. The original "Andariego" was written by Chuchito for his father with horn lines he credits to his father's style. There is a salute to traditional folkloric Guaguanco Montuno with a descarga and vocals. "Danza de Los Gigantes", another original by Chuchito is also based on 6/8 rhythms featuring Laksar Reese on soprano sax in a free-style meditation dedicated to the spirits of all the musicians who have led the way. "Tres Lindas Cubanas", a Son is given a traditional classic reading with Laksar on Flute. Chuchito showcases his considerable technique with restraint, concentrating on the ensemble interaction and the musical interpretation. This is a sweet, joyous, masterful, well balanced effort with the focus on the music, respecting the past and heading into the future.

Chuchito's next release, "La Timba", due out in October of 2002, will undoubtedly impress as well! For a preview, if you have a fast connection, click here to listen to "Montuneando", it's in Windows Media Player
format (wma) and it's 2.5 megabytes. Enjoy!

Laksar Reese (Tenor & Soprano Saxophones, Flute ) - Born in Sydney, Australia Laksar Reese is currently based out of Chicago, where he leads his own Latin and straight ahead jazz ensembles on Tenor/Soprano saxophones and Flute.

He's performed all over the world with Latin and Straight-ahead Jazz ensembles - from Sydney to Seattle, to New York. His first CD, the “Laksar Reese Quintet” was released a year and a half ago and is currently distributed by Emphasis Music.

He recently recorded and co-produced the Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz CD “Encantado” with Chuchito Valdés. He also runs a Jazz/Latin Jazz based booking agency named Birdland Productions West which books music for clubs and festivals internationally, as well as private and corporate events throughout the Midwest. When not touring with Chuchito Valdés he is working around Chicago and throughout the Midwest with his own Jazz and Latin Jazz Ensembles.

Mike Maldonado (Vocals) - Mike is a sensational vocalist who is currently the lead vocalist for The 911 Mambo Orchestra. He also is featured in the Orchestras of Angel Melendez. He has worked with many great artists as they come through Chicago and is one of the most sought after Latin vocalists in Chicago. His voice is powerful, romantic and strong and sings Salsa, Merengue, Latin ballads, and many other styles of Latin music.

Rubén Alvarez (Drums, Timbales, Percussion) – Rubén is one of Chicago’s outstanding Latin percussionists. He leads his own Latin-Jazz Band that performs throughout the Midwest presenting concerts/clinic performance workshops. He has also worked with the Ravina Jazz Mentor’s program for a number of years and now leads his own Jazz Education Program which presents concerts/workshops in the schools. He is also a constantly featured side musician with many Chicago recording artists, and has been featured with Blue Note recording artist Patricia Barber on one of her recent releases. He performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival last year with a student-led ensemble, the Gallery 37 Latin Big Band. They performed a work written by Ruben Alvarez, that was commissioned by the Chicago Jazz Institute. He has also performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival with his own group Sun Sounds as well as other Latin jazz ensembles in recent years. He also leads “Raices” a percussion ensemble that performs with the Icarus String Quartet, who are composer members of the Chicago Symphony. He also is a faculty member at Northwestern University.

Kenny Anderson (Trumpet) - One of the most sought after trumpet players in Chicago, Kenny tours regularly with the Ohio Players and is a featured soloist and lead trumpeter with many Chicago Bands. He is currently featured with Orchestra Isla and Hector Silveira Orchestra and has recorded and performed with Chuchito Valdés. His musicality combined with his range makes his music very exciting.

Jonathan Paul (Acoustic & Electric Basses) - An outstanding bassist who works regularly in the straight ahead and Latin jazz idioms, Jonathan has performed music throughout the world. He currently teaches Jazz Bass and jazz combos at Benedictine University. He has recorded with Fareed Haque the well known Chicago guitarist, for Blue Note Records and tours and performs regularly with this group. He has performed with pianists Danilo Perez and Deanna Witkowski at the Kennedy Center in New York. He also performs regularly with select jazz and Latin-jazz bands in and around Chicago.

Carlos Quintos (Bongos/Percussion/Vocal) - Originally from Cuba, Carlos now calls Chicago home. He is one of the great Latin percussionists on the Chicago music scene. And has performed all over the world. He is a veteran of many great Chicago Latin ensembles and has been a featured member of this ensemble performing, touring and recording with Chuchito Valdés.

Frankie Ocasio (Congas) - Frankie is an exciting conga player with inventive solos who has worked with many great Salsa and Latin Jazz Artists. He is a constantly featured sideman when these artists perform in Chicago. Puppy Santiago, Michael Stuart and Ray Sepulveda are a few of the international artists he has performed with. He is the featured conga player in the 911 Mambo Orchestra and has worked with Angel Melendez and his bands for the past 8 years. He also works with Carlitos Rey and Jesus Enrique. He is a featured member in the Laksar Reese Latin Jazz Ensemble and has recorded and performed with Chuchito Valdés.

CHUCHITO'S PRESS QUOTES

"A child prodigy raised in Havana, Jesus "Chuchito" Valdés has inherited more than his father's famous name. On a recording made in Chicago last summer, he displays the hell-bent intensity and daredevil technique of the elder Valdés-qualities recognized worldwide as hallmarks of Cuban Jazz.

In terms of pure flamboyance, Chuchito can just about match his dad - he can raise a mountain of rhythmic intensity with a driving Montuno, create flutelike filigrees in his fluttering right hand figures, or stagger flashing cords at breakneck speed to build a kaleidoscopic improvisation.

But he seems just as happy to play out a lyrical danzón with unfeigned humility - to throttle back a notch, in other words, and let the music breathe... the relative spaciousness in his style does set Chuchito apart from most of his countrymen."

Neil Tesser - Author of "The Playboy Guide to Jazz"

“In a sense, Valdés and his band 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. This was jazz improvisation of the most sophisticated kind, with arcane chord changes and unexpected bursts of dissonance at almost every turn.”

Howard Reich - Chicago Tribune

"This is a burning Afro-Cuban jazz CD. The program gives us mostly originals by Chuchito and/or Reese, (as well as) Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and "Tres Lindas Cubanas". The music here is simply wonderful, very articulate, strong and clean."

Marshall Vente - Radio Host of "Jazz Tropical" - 90.9 FM

For more information on Laksar and Chuchito, visit: www.lrmproductions.com/Valdez.html.