A special tour celebrating Chucho Valdés’ 85th birthday and 70-year musical career is coming to Tampa. The quartet features Chucho Valdés on piano, José Armando Gola on bass, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández on drums, and Roberto Jr. Vizcaíno Torre on percussion.
Dionisio Jesús Valdés Rodríguez – better known as “Chucho” – was born on Oct. 9, 1941. He is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger with a career spanning over 50 years. A founding member of the Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music, he also founded the group Irakere in 1973 – one of Cuba’s most renowned Latin jazz bands.
Over the course of his career, Valdés Rodríguez has won a total of 15 Grammy Awards. CENTRO Tampa spoke with him about his upcoming performance in Tampa.
CENTRO Tampa: What are your expectations for your performance in Tampa this coming Sept. 26?
Chucho Valdés: It’s a tremendous thrill; there is a great audience in Tampa – always very receptive to good music – so we’re expecting the best. I turn 85 on Oct. 9, so I’ll be celebrating with this tour, and what better place to do it than Tampa?
CT: What kind of music will the audience hear at the concert?
CV: We’re ready to go all out with our music in Tampa. I’m coming with my quartet, and we’re going to present a new repertoire; previously, we had been performing material from an album called Cuba a un Millón. We were lucky enough to win a Grammy for that album, but now we’re moving forward with new projects – new music that the audience will get to hear.
CT: What is this new music all about?
CV: It’s an instrumental Latin jazz quartet—meaning there are no songs with lyrics, no vocals, nothing like that. We play Afro-Cuban jazz, and the musicians are truly exceptional – world-class, really.
CT: Who is playing with you?
CV: Roberto Vizcaíno on congas, Armando Gola on bass, and Horacio Hernández on drums.
CT: And how long has this quartet been together?
CV: The quartet has gone through many changes. I first formed this quartet back in 1998, and the lineup has shifted over time; this latest version is called the Royal Quartet, and for me, it’s the best one yet.
CT: How long is the performance?
CV: Ninety minutes. We play between 10 and 12 tracks, but the pieces are quite long.
CT: Are the songs original compositions—written by you or the quartet—or are they by other composers?
CV: Generally, I’m the composer — they’re my own songs — though we do play some Cuban and Latin American standards. But for the most part, they are my own compositions.
CT: How do you view the Cuban musical heritage in the Tampa Bay area?
CV: It’s tremendous. I’ve gone to Tampa to perform several times. I actually had an aunt who lived there her whole life – she passed away a few years ago – but I’ve visited the bay area because of the family I have there; I still have cousins living in Tampa.
CT: So, when you perform here in the bay, is a full house guaranteed?
CV: That’s how it’s always been, and I hope it happens again.
CT: And what do you like most about coming to Tampa?
CV: I really like everything – the people, the audience, and the place itself; it’s beautiful, and I have great memories here, too. For example, I performed a concert where my family was present – and, of course, the audience, which included many Cubans – and honestly, it was an incredible experience.
CT: Looking back on all these years as a pianist and composer, how do you feel at this stage of your life?
CV: You’re always evolving; in fact, the first Grammy Award I won – with Ovidia Kennedy – was back in 1979, and the last one I won was just last year. That makes 15 Grammys in total, so my music has always been there, and I strive to keep improving it. Fourteen of those Grammys are in the Latin Jazz and Afro-Cuban Jazz categories, but I do have one Grammy for pop music – I made an experimental album that won it.
CT: Where do you live?
CV: I’ve lived here in the United States for years; I lived in Spain for a while, but then I returned to Florida – to Fort Lauderdale.
CT: What message would you like to share with the Cuban community in Tampa to encourage them to attend your concert?
CV: Get ready to have a great time – that’s the motto. It’s going to be a wonderful concert, a reunion with my Cuban friends in Tampa, and I also invite Hispanic friends of other nationalities who enjoy this kind of music to join me.
To purchase tickets, visit the Straz Center website at www.strazcenter.org/