JESUS DIONISIO 'Chucho' Valdes is a musical paradox. A man of seemingly limitless musical imagination, steeped in jazz, he has never allowed himself to become the prisoner of any style or discipline, and yet has always remained close to his Afro-Cuban roots.
Jazz claims him, world music claims him and he's perfectly at home with the classical repertoire. As leader of the groundbreaking 1970s fusion band Irakere, he brought a new Cuban sound to an international audience and won the first of a series of Grammys, for a live recording of the band's US debut at the Newport Jazz Festival.
Music has always been in his blood. His father, Ramon 'Bebo' Valdes, is a prominent pianist who was mixing Cuban dance rhythms with jazz back in the 40s. He was also his first teacher, showing him the way with classical and jazz piano.
'Afro-Cuban rhythm combinations can be imaginatively combined with jazz music that has Afro-American roots,' says Valdes. 'In this direction and with this concept I founded the Irakere group.'
He worked with Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D'Rivera in Orquesta de Musica Moderna, which he founded in 1967 after an apprenticeship with the Elio Reve Orchestra. They then played together in Irakere - the first Cuban band of the era to win an audience, and a recording contract, outside Cuba.
Unlike Sandoval and D'Rivera - who developed their careers in exile - Valdes returned to Havana at the end of every tour, and is treasured as a national hero.
