FIVE DECADES AND COUNTING: CHUCHO VALDÉS & IRAKERE CELEBRATE A MUSICAL REVOLUTION

Irakere was, for me, a point of departure that opened new doors, new horizons, from the African roots to a fusion of jazz and popular dance music.

An act of defiance is quite an origin story in any context, and that is precisely how the band known as Irakere burst on the scene back in 1974. The architect of this award winning and genre-defying ensemble does not mince words about the challenges of his vision for the band that would transform Cuban music; legendary pianist, composer, and bandleader Jesús “Chucho” Valdés knew that what he had in mind would take some convincing among the bureaucratic forces in his island homeland. Facing a plethora of challenges and roadblocks, the shortened version of the story of the band’s formation centered around the distribution of Irakere’s maiden recording even before the band had a name—the jazz-rock infused “Bacalao Con Pan” (1973). Despite the Culture Ministry’s refusal to endorse the newly formed ensemble, the catchy song had become a hit on Cuban radio, forcing the hand of the government to approve of Irakere’s existence. (A longer version of this story can be found in the co-authored book, Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz: The Music of Chucho Valdés & Irakere, Sher Music, 2018. Several excerpts from this book are noted throughout the following article. Valdés's current iteration of the band, Irakere 50, performs 2/15-18)  

Chucho Valdés’s vision had been fomented within a brotherhood of like-minded and musically adventurous musicians, each of whom had already demonstrated to their professors and mentors that they were intent on defying real as well as perceived boundaries. From his early experimentation as a conservatory student fusing Bach two-part inventions and Cuban montuno and clave rhythms (much to the chagrin of his counterpoint teacher), to his exploration of African sacred and secular chants and the search for new sounds in the electrified era of jazz-rock, Chucho was musically curious and voracious since he can remember. The Valdés family home was filled with no shortage of inspiration, and Chucho’s father—legendary pianist Bebo Valdés—recalled a very young Chucho waking up at dawn to perform pieces at the piano that he had heard Bebo playing the night before. “As early as three years of age, my father said I was able to pick out a melody, and that’s when my family realized I would probably become a musician.” 

Upon entering the public conservatory at age nine (!), Chucho found a wealth of inspiration from both academic and “popular” environments, guided along the way by his father Bebo, who insisted that his son learn from everyone he could while encouraging him to develop his own sound. “Some of Bebo’s closest friends were Cuban musical icons: Ernesto Lecuona, Bola de Nieve, and Rita Montaner, in particular. Over the years, I had seen Ernesto (Lecuona) at the house many times, and remember hearing him play and thinking to myself, ‘This is one of the most magnificent pianists I’ve ever seen!’ I always heard people talking about him but never realized exactly who he was. To me, he was just another cool musician who hung out with my father.” 

As Chucho continued in his studies—after graduating from the conservatory at age 14—his most profound tutelage came from joining his father Bebo at the famed Tropicana Nightclub, and upon Bebo’s permanent departure from Cuba after the Revolution in 1959, Chucho found himself in the musical director’s seat of the house band. This “trial-by-fire" was one of several sources of professional training that would help cultivate his style as a bandleader; much of his genius, like that of the great Art Blakey, would come from his collaborative nature and his ability to bring out the best in young, emerging talent. 

In reflecting on the defining moments of his career early on, Valdés recalls a 1970 trip to Warsaw with his newly formed Quinteto Cubano de Jazz quintet, which included several future Irakere bandmates: percussionist-singer Oscar Valdés, drummer Enrique Plá, and reedman Paquito D’Rivera. “We were second-to-last on the bill, right before the Dave Brubeck Quartet with Gerry Mulligan! The Polish audience went crazy, screaming and pounding on the floor, and gave us a standing ovation. I was so moved, I nearly died. Then I learned that Brubeck had been in the wings watching us the entire time. After his set, he came to our dressing room, gave me a hug, and I’ll never forget what he said: ‘Never stop!’ All of us in the band cried like babies that evening; what an unforgettable moment.” 

In 1974, as the band known as Irakere would break through barriers and come into its own, what set it apart was not only the creative vision of its leader, but also the extraordinary musicianship of its star players and the quest to combine diverse musical styles into an amalgam that defied categorization. Much like Duke Ellington, whose signature style was cultivated by writing to the strengths of individual ensemble members, Chucho’s gift was to enlist the creative capital of his bandmates, truly developing a music that was “beyond category.” The key to the band’s sonic palette was (and is) the abundance of musical vocabularies. From Afro-Cuban sacred and secular rhythms and chants to European classical repertoire, American swing, bebop, rock, funk, and soul, Irakere threw everything into the pot and continued tweaking the recipe over the years and across iterations of the band’s personnel. “Back then we were listening to Blood, Sweat & Tears, as well as the incredible Chicago horn section, and of course Herbie Hancock, especially the Head Hunters album. I basically ‘lifted’ Herbie’s ‘Chameleon,’ changed a few notes, and created a variation of it for Irakere’s opening theme! And songs we did like ‘Aguanile Bonkó’ were greatly inspired by Earth, Wind & Fire, with those disco-like horn riffs.” 

With a taste of the international acclaim that would follow him across decades, the band’s fate would be transformed even further with a fortuitous visit to Cuba in 1977 by jazz great Dizzy Gillespie. Upon hearing Irakere at a jam session at the Havana Libre Hotel (formerly the Havana Hilton), Dizzy was so captivated by the band that he immediately got word to Bruce Lundvall of Columbia Records about this groundbreaking Cuban group, prompting Lundvall to sign the band and bring them to the Newport Jazz Festival in 1978. “Bruce was the important link in taking Irakere to the next level, hiring us for the Newport gig and the show at Carnegie Hall, then taking us to Switzerland for the Montreux Jazz Festival. Both of those concerts (Carnegie Hall and Montreux) were recorded and released as a compilation, eventually resulting in our first GRAMMY Award (in 1979).” 

Chucho revisited the various events—some of them emotionally jarring—that led to the recalibration of the band in the years to come. Among the most traumatic for Chucho were the departures of frontmen Paquito D’Rivera (in 1980) and Arturo Sandoval (in 1981), followed by the untimely death of percussionist Jorge Alfonso “El Niño” in 1987. Citing creative differences as well as the socioeconomic challenges of pursuing professional music careers in jazz while living in communist Cuba, D’Rivera and Sandoval were set on going solo. And Niño’s passing led Chucho to begin recruiting emerging talent from Cuba’s newly formed Art Schools, resulting in the acquisition of flautist Orlando Valle “Maraca,” conga virtuoso Miguel “Angá” Diaz, and baritone sax player and flautist José Luis Cortés “El Tosco.” During the late 1980s, Valdés also began exploring solo piano opportunities, resulting in a number of acclaimed tours and recordings that ushered in new possibilities. “I was starting to explore smaller group formats when I was invited to perform on a solo piano concert tour in Canada with other major jazz artists, including Keith Jarrett. I was thrilled to receive excellent reviews after a performance in Montreal, and that was the moment that convinced me the solo piano thing just might work.” 

In 2014, Chucho launched a 40th anniversary edition of Irakere while living in Spain, revealing that he wasn’t quite done with this experiment. And as we fast-forward to the present day and marvel at a youthful 82-year-old Chucho continuing an active touring and performing career, let us acknowledge his tenacity and resilience while rejoicing in his ongoing journey in search of the next sound. In celebrating Irakere’s 50th anniversary, we rekindle the revived spirit of a band that has not only transformed the musical landscape of Afro-Cuban jazz, it has endured and reinvented itself. 

Chucho Valdés and Irakere 50 performs 2/15-18. More information and tickets available here. The 2/16 performance will be broadcast as part of SFJAZZ At Home's Fridays Live series. Watch the concert here.