SFJAZZ.org | Sonic Possibilities The Reinvention of Cuban Supergroup Irakere

February 03, 2025

Sonic Possibilities: The Reinvention of Cuban Supergroup Irakere over five decades

By Rebeca Mauleón

Pianist Chucho Valdés and Irakere 50 returns with trumpet legend and founding member Arturo Sandoval and guests Cimafunk on 2/22. SFJAZZ Education Director Rebeca Mauleón traces the history and future of the legendary group and its iconic leader.

Chucho Valdés

Chucho Valdés with Irakere 50 at SFJAZZ, 2/15/24 (photo by Rick Swig)

What Chucho Valdés has accomplished as a creative force within the vanguard of Cuban music is truly unprecedented. Leading a band for fifty years is no small feat! No matter the transitions and occasional interruptions along the way, one must acknowledge this remarkable achievement in any discipline. But Chucho's tenacity was evident from the start of a brilliant and multifaceted career buoyed by his completion of a conservatory education at age 14.

From his early years under the tutelage of his father—piano giant Bebo Valdés — to his machinations and experimentation as a bandleader and the eventual birthing of the supergroup Irakere in 1973, Chucho has managed to maintain a level of excellence and relevance seldom seen outside the classical or jazz traditions. It is noteworthy that the European aesthetic clearly molded his pianistic and compositional formation; who else could seamlessly navigate the worlds of Bach, Chopin and Debussy with a splash of Dave Brubeck and Bud Powell? His father Bebo exposed him to George Gershwin, Ernesto Lecuona, Pedro Jústiz "Peruchín," Art Tatum, Nat King Cole and so many others, and instilled in him the idea that he should eagerly learn from his many mentors and influences but also work to develop his own sound. As a result, Chucho’s thirst for new sonic possibilities led him on a much more musically voracious trajectory, enabling the band and its leader to reinvent themselves on multiple occasions while taking on influences from far and wide.

By the time Dizzy Gillespie got wind of Irakere in 1977 during his visit to Havana on the infamous Jazz Cruise, the stage was set for the band to wow audiences and blow minds on multiple continents. Irakere was the first Cuban band to successfully champion a repertoire that straddled the line between instrumental jazz and popular dance music, and Dizzy became their most ardent ambassador.

An act of defiance signaled the official beginning of Irakere as an ensemble when a rogue sub-group of bandmates from Havana’s Modern Music Orchestra broke out on their own and recorded a single penned by Valdés in 1973 called “Bacalao Con Pan.” Much to the chagrin of Havana’s bureaucratic forces, the song’s clandestine release and rampant airplay resulted in the official recognition of the newly minted ensemble. When Dizzy heard them live in Havana in 1977, Irakere was already fully formed, blending sacred West African chants with searing bebop horn lines and electronic sounds. Band members had clearly listened to and absorbed the jazz-rock explorations of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Weather Report and Chick Corea, and dared to go well beyond category. Fuse Mozart with gospel? Why not? The instrumentation was another innovation, combining Afro-Cuban percussion with the drum set, electric guitar and bass, a killer horn section that embodied the virtuosity of the bebop tradition along with the contemporary flavorings of bands such as Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire, and an array of keyboards and synthesizers that Chucho would add to his arsenal over the ensuing years.

The lineup throughout the various incarnations of the band is another secret ingredient in the success of Irakere’s longevity; each iteration of the band was shaped not only by Chucho’s evolving musical vision but also by the distinctive sounds of its star players. Much like Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Irakere became a breeding ground for young and emerging talents, some of whom would achieve critical success on their own. Two such members of the original band include reedman Paquito D’Rivera and trumpet virtuoso Arturo Sandoval, both of whom have garnered significant international acclaim, including a recent Kennedy Center Honor for Sandoval in 2024.

Other notable members include lead vocalist/percussionist Oscar Valdés (1937-2023), who championed the band’s exploration of deep-roots West African sacred and secular rhythms and chants, and guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales (1939-2014) often referred to as the “Wes Montgomery of Cuba,” who provided the bop-infused, wah-wah-laden sounds that skirted around the band’s “imperialist” American aesthetics. The infectious grooves established by drummer Enrique Pla, bassist Carlos Del Puerto and conguero Jorge Alfonso “El Niño” provided the foundation for Chucho’s masterful writing and arranging as well as the brilliant improvisations of the horn section, including renowned trumpeter Jorge Varona (1932-1988) and tenor saxophonist Carlos Averhoff (1947-2016). Stories from several band members recall the many nights of late-night “shedding” in hotel rooms while on tour, working through dizzyingly fast horn cadenzas. This first crop of “Irakeres” brought a level of musicianship that set the bar well beyond expectations, and quick to take notice was Columbia Records president Bruce Lundvall, who signed the band to the label in 1978.

After winning a GRAMMY Award for their maiden recording—a first for any Cuban ensemble—Irakere embarked on an intense period of recording and touring, albeit limited mostly to Soviet bloc countries. The strain of creative differences as well as logistical challenges eventually led to the departure of two of the band’s biggest stars: D'Rivera in 1980 and Sandoval in 1981. Without missing a beat, Chucho recalibrated the ensemble and brought in several young players, resulting in what some critics felt was a more unified and coherent ensemble. Irakere “Version 2” included sax and flute virtuoso José Luis Cortés “El Tosco” (1951-2022), a seminal player in the impending timba craze that would take shape in the 1990s. Among the most significant recordings of this iteration of the band is Misa Negra (Messidor, 1986), the title track representing one of Chucho’s most epic compositional works. Following another period of transition coupled with the tragic loss of two core members of the band (Alfonso and Varona), Chucho regrouped once again while embarking on a significant solo piano career. By the third iteration of Irakere, a new cohort of young upstarts—many of them fresh out of the conservatory—were recruited for coveted spots in the band, among them flautist Orlando Valle “Maraca,” saxophonist César López, trumpeter Juan Munguía, and conga virtuoso Miguel “Angá” Díaz (1961-2006). Between the late 1980s into the 90s, there would be one final “pre-millennium” incarnation of the band before Chucho would lean into a more pared-down instrumentation, resulting in the subsequent Afro-Cuban Messengers and quartet formats. As Irakere became less of a priority, it was his solo piano and smaller group work that would result in several more GRAMMY as well as Latin GRAMMY wins for Chucho, along with increased touring work in the U.S. and abroad. Then in 2014 the opportunity to transform presented itself once again on Irakere’s 40th anniversary.

While in Barcelona, Spain, Chucho launched Irakere 40, adding a cadre of young players to his stellar Afro-Cuban Messengers lineup, most of whom had been nurtured on the classic recordings of the first seminal bands. It turned out to be a good move; the 2015 release Tribute to Irakere: Live in Marciac won the GRAMMY for best Latin Jazz album in 2016. Fast-forwarding to 2024, SFJAZZ was thrilled to present a newly minted version of Irakere in celebration of the band’s 50th anniversary, which kicked off an ambitious European tour. This was preceded by an unprecedented reunion for a one-night-only performance in Miami; the fortunate audience witnessed three legends on stage when D’Rivera and Sandoval joined Chucho for a moving tribute to the band that had started it all.

At age 83, maestro Valdés continues his quest for new soundscapes. Not one to slow down or rest on his many laurels, Chucho evokes a pure sense of devotion to his music and to cultivating and fostering young talent. His pianistic skills are as sharp and vibrant as ever, and among his many enduring qualities is his uncanny ability to reimagine well-known repertoire in stunning new ways. Each performance will bring us something new, some unexpected twist and turn, a magical transformation that defies explanation. And we are lucky to go along for the ride.

Chucho Valdés and Irakere 50 featuring Arturo Sandoval perform at Oakland's Paramount Theatre on 2/22 with a guest appearance by Cimafunk. Tickets and more information are available here.

Rebeca Mauleón is a pianist, educator and author specializing in Afro-Cuban and Latin American music. As Director of Education for SFJAZZ as well as professor of the S.F. Conservatory of Music's Roots, Jazz & American Music (RJAM) program, Rebeca remains committed to amplifying music rooted in the African Diaspora. A close friend of Maestro Valdés, she co-authored a book with him entitled Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz: The Music of Chucho Valdés & Irakere (Sher Music, 2018).

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