MADRID, Spain.- Cuban jazz player Dionisio Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, known worldwide as Chucho Valdés, turns 81 this Sunday, most of which he has dedicated to music.
Born in Quivicán, the current province of Mayabeque, he began his musical training when he was only three years old, influenced by his father, also an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist. Bebo Valdes (1918-2013), born coincidentally on October 9. At 15 he had already formed his first jazz trio with Emilio del Monte and Luis Rodríguez.
In December 1958 he worked as a pianist at the Deauville and St. John hotels in Havana. Between 1961 and 1963 he worked as a pianist at the Martí Theater, International Hall of the Hotel Habana Riviera and in the orchestra of the Musical Theater of Havana.
One of the great moments of his career came in 1973, when he founded the group Irakere. the orchestra of jazz Cuban brought together a group of renowned musicians who made great contributions to Latin jazz.
In addition to being a pianist, Chucho Valdés has been a music teacher, composer and arranger.
He was declared a Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2006.
They have performed on important stages around the world and are considered by experts to be one of the best international pianists.
Among his numerous recognitions are nine Grammys: six Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammys. This year Valdés is again among the nominees of the Latin Grammys, in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album with the album Mirror mirror, together with the Brazilian pianist Eliane Elías and the American, who died last year, Chick Corea.
Since 2010 Valdés lives between Malaga and Miami; and on several occasions he has expressed his opposition to the situation on the Island, referring to the repression and economic precariousness.
In an interview this year with the Spanish newspaper ABCthe pianist pointed out that for his country “he dreams of the best”, which is “freedom”.
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