Cuba Jazz, Dionisio Chucho Valdés, Cuban clubs, Jazz Café & La Zorra y el Cuervo, Plaza Jazz and & Jazz Festivals,

Damián Aquiles
(1972)

José Luis Fariñas
1972

Aquiles has obsessively favoured scrap material from the bodywork of old cars or containers of the most varied types to make small walking human figures, or perfectly flattened squares grouped according to an impeccable arrangement. He has not abandoned canvas, however, using a combination of techniques to produce an abstract work where graffiti connotes the emotional impact in the direction that the artist is interested in.

His Dürer—like detailed, precise, expressive drawings, in conformity with a personal symbolic language, which does not clash with the subordination that the art of illustrating demands, delves incisively into horror and chaos. His world, suggestive and dreamlike, lyric, yet grotesque, is both our world and the world that is beyond all possible knowledge.

Overcoming his blindness, he became a professional pianist at the young age of 13, and in the 1940s formed the Loquibambia orchestra. He was a member of the Cuban Jazz Club and took part in countless "descargas" Cuban version of jam sessions? with the most outstanding jazzmen of the country. He was also much involved in the "filin" movement, one of its sources being jazz. He was influential in pianists as important as Chucho Valdés, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Hernán López—Nussa. A number of his compositions, including Gandinga, mondongo y sandunga are Latin jazz classics.

After singing with different Cuban orchestras, he travelled to New York where he and Mario Bauzá formed the Machito and his Afro—Cubans band in 1940, considered by experts as the most important event for the development of Latin American music in the United States. From 1947 to 1966, he played at the Palladium Ballroom, a centre for Latin rhythms in New York. He cut a considerable number of records with his band and toured the world with his successful fusion of American and Cuban music. Albums such as Afro—Cuban Jazz, which includes musical pieces recorded between 1948 and 1954, and reedited in 1981, are considered gems of Latin Jazz.

Born into a family of legendary Cuban musicians, he joined at a young age the danzón orchestra led by his father. In 1936, he created the Bellamar orchestra and from 1942 to 1967 he conducted the orchestra of the Tropicana cabaret, where the most important jazz players of Cuba performed. In 1967, he became the conductor of the Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music, a true school of future famed musicians, including Chucho Valdés and Paquito D'Rivera. He was a constant animator and promoter of jazz in Cuba and one of the founders of the Plaza Jazz Festival.

The youngest member of the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora del ICAIC, directed by Leo Brouwer, he shone as pianist and composer. During the 1980s, he formed his own group, performing in important jazz festivals. He shared the stage with musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Brandford Marsalis, Manhattan Transfer, Airto Moreira and Art Blake. He was a stunning soloist and notable improviser with an original sense of rhythm. Bobby Carcassés dedicated his album Jazz Timbero and Paquito D'Rivera, 40 Years of Cuban Jam Session, to Emiliano Salvador as a tribute to his exceptional talent.

He had played the clarinet since he was a youngster in Cuban danzón orchestras, and later in the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra, until he settled down in New York in 1930, where he joined the bands led by Noble Sissle, Chick Webb and Cab Calloway, in whose arrangements he added elements of Cuban rhythms to jazz. He helped Frank Grillo get together his Afro—Cubans band, for which he made fabulous arrangements besides playing lead trumpet. He shares with his friend Machito the paternity of Latin jazz.

Dancers’ idol and accomplished performer of all—time greats, Cortés is one of the most consistent Cuban musicians of the last decades. Highlights in his career have been his work as bandleader of NG La Banda, his jazz performances to which he has contributed his mastery of the flute, and his extensive knowledge of the secrets of Cuban popular music, having perfected his style when he was a member of such popular orchestras as Van Van and Irakere. His imaginative improvisations have made him a favorite of the most demanding audiences.

A member, together with Jorge Varona and Juan Munguía, of Irakere’s brass trio, he later joined NG La Banda ― led by José Luis Cortés, El Tosco ― until he was able to create his own band: Top Secret. His flügelhorn and trumpet performances, as well as his work as an arranger and composer, are characterized by virtuosity, flexibility that allows him to transit from lyricism to passion and still be tasteful, and his will to innovate or revitalize old songs. His discography includes over fifty albums, having shared the stage with great contemporary jazz musicians, including George Benson, Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, Tania Maria, Dizzy Gillespie, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Herbie Hancock.

Clarinettist, saxophonist and composer, Zalba is well known as a true clarinet, flute and saxophone virtuoso both in classical music and popular music, most notably in jazz fusion. In 1978, he joined the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, later playing with Irakere, José María Vitier’s group and Buena Vista Social Club. For the last ten years, he has been with Temperamento, and has continued performing classical music in concerts and recitals. His vast musical knowledge, his solid technique and his talent for improvisation are displayed in his album Bariton Cha, which has been nominated in the Jazz Music and Instrumental Music categories of Cubadisco 2007, and released under the Colibrí record label.

He established himself as a jazz musician in Bobby Carcassés’s band AfroJazz and in 1988 joined Irakere as a saxophonist. In 1997, he organized his own band, Habana Ensemble, together with other former Irakere band members. The band has toured almost all of Europe as well as many other Asian and African nations, performing in important jazz festivals. His versatile repertoire includes not only jazz, but also ballads, pop and fusion, performed with the impeccability and creativity that characterize his arrangements, compositions and improvisations.

He started out in Bobby Carcassés’s band AfroJazz and subsequently performed six years in Irakere as flutist, keyboard player and arranger. In 1995, he formed Maraca and Otra Visión and some time later Maraca and Afro—Cuban Jazz Masters. He was evidently paying homage to Emiliano Salvador and predecessors Machito and Mario Bauzá ― founders of the mythical Afro—Cubans ― and declaring his interest in the richness of Cuban music as well as its surprising links with rhythms of other parts of the world. A performer of vast technique and passion ― quite spectacular as a bandleader ― he has been applauded in countless countries and considered by critics as one of the most talented performers of Afro—Cuban music.

The son of Horacio Hernández, Cuba’s most zealous jazz critic and historian, he was a member of Sonido Contemporáneo and played together with Gonzalo Rubalcaba for 10 years, besides performing as a percussionist in countless recordings of virtually every Cuban music style. In Italy, he taught percussion extensively. A virtuoso performer of drums and percussion instruments in general, his style of execution is a combination of emotions and reflectiveness. He is the leader of Italtuba ― a quartet ― and a larger band with which he has toured the world over and shared the stage with prominent figures of contemporary jazz and popular music. He is today one of the most successful Cuban musicians in the international arena.

Although not abounding in many great singers, Cuban jazz can boast the supple, exceptional voice of Mayra Caridad Valdés, who feels at ease whether singing contemporary songs, landmark tunes made famous by great jazz females singers, boleros or Afro—Cuban chants. Sister of Chucho and daughter of Bebo Valdés, she was encouraged by American actor and singer Harry Belafonte to follow a singing career Since then, she has enjoyed success both as soloist or as a member of different bands, including Irakere.

Launched worldwide by Dizzy Gillespie during the 1985 Jazz Plaza Festival, Rubalcaba ― legendary pianist Guillermo G. Rubalcaba’s son ― played with the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and later Sonido Contemporáneo before forming his own band, Proyecto. He has performed at the most famous jazz venues and has shared the spotlight with many jazz legends, including Miles Davis, Manhattan Transfer, Charlie Haden and Gillespie himself, with his innovative hybrid of technology, contemporary universal music, and random methods mixed into the rich Cuban musical heritage. He has been acknowledged by critics as one of the most valuable pianists today.

He started out playing rock music with Los Jets, but later favoured jazz. Whether as a regular band member or as a guest performer, he has played with the most outstanding jazz and fusion bands in the country, and with any other outstanding musician who has required the presence of an electric guitar virtuoso. His discography includes countless of albums, building a bridge between rock melodies and jazz improvisations, always bearing the mark of his fertile imagination, intelligence and amazing technique.

With a sound musical training and cultural background, he has simultaneously pursued both classical and popular music, the latter mainly in the form of jazz, from the moment he joined AfroCuba and afterwards Cuarto Espacio, his own band, which he put together in 1989, to later go solo. All these musical experiences have shaped his work as composer and pianist, drawing on Afro—Cuban music, the European classical legacy, the brilliant Cuban 19th—century pianism and present—day rhythms, which all work together to create jazz that does not abide by any set classifications, but asserts the free spirit of this genre. His composition Momo has become a point of reference in contemporary Cuban jazz.

Daughter of guitarist Aníbal Expósito, at the age of 15 she made her professional debut with Expreso Rítmico, playing later with Mezcla and Manguaré, until she created her own band, Jazztumbatá, whose very name proclaims the purpose of fusing jazz with Afro—Cuban rhythms. As bandleader, pianist, lead singer, percussionist, composer and arranger, she has toured extensively throughout the world, performing together with such figures as Lionel Hampton, Bobby McFerrin, Michel Camilo, Chucho Valdés and Gary Bartz. Enthusiastic promoter of the Jazz Plaza Festival, she also hosts Cuban TV show A Todo Jazz.

When he was 15, he took second place at the JoJazz competition, which was instituted by Chucho Valdés for promising young musicians. He played in Bobby Carcassés’s group AfroJazz, as well as in Diákara, led by former Irakere musician, Oscarito Valdés. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York under Wynton Marsalis who introduced him to blues music and helped him discover the essence of jazz. Like many of his contemporaries, he shares his passion for jazz with the study of classical music, especially great composers of the baroque era, who were so fond of subtleties and improvisations. Leading a quintet that is committed to music with a great dose of spirituality and freedom, Manzano has consolidated a career that establishes him, in spite of his youth, as one of the great trumpet players in Cuba.

The son of showman Bobby Carcassés, and a graduate of percussion, although more inclined towards the piano, he played in his father’s group before becoming the centre figure of Interactivo, one of the most interesting projects of Cuban music today. Free from a set structure, the group is open to the participation of different musicians and singers, functioning more like a workshop. Although its members are basically jazz performers, they also play rap, timba, rumba, ballad, rock, hip hop, funk and son with the purpose of interacting with a wide range of elements, yet always in keeping with the beat of their time.

Born into a family of distinguished Cuban musicians, he made his debut at 12 playing Sergei Prokofiev’s ConcertoNo. 3 for piano and orchestra with the National Symphony Orchestra. He has received various recognitions in national and international competitions. After winning the Grand Prize, First Work Prize and Jazz Prize in Cubadisco 2000 with his album En el ocaso de la hormiga y el elefante ― which also won him a Latin Grammy nomination in 2001―he shines in the Cuban jazz scene as one of its brightest exponents thanks to his mastery of the piano, his solid training and the imaginative treatment of his compositions.

Son and nephew of jazz players, his interests are twofold: composing and performing concert, jazz and dance music. He made his debut when he was still a second—year intermediate—level piano student playing Maurice Ravel’s Piano concerto in G. As keyboardist, he has performed with Teresa García Caturla’s group, Haila Mompié’s group, Klímax ― led by Giraldo Piloto ― and the jazz quartet led by trumpet player Alexarder Brown. He has won numerous awards at the most important competitions for concert pianists at home, and in 2005, at 22, he won First Prize and the Audience Prize at the challenging Solos Piano Competition held every year in Montreux, Switzerland.

He began learning music at a very early age and when he was six, he was already performing before audiences. In 1965, he became a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, and at a later date, of Irakere. He has played with many outstanding jazzmen including Michel Camilo, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Mann. He won a Grammy for his recording Portraits of Cuba in 1996. His technical expertise, harmonic sense and overflowing imagination make him one of the great virtuosos of the saxophone in contemporary jazz. . .

Founder of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna and Irakere, he later formed his own group. He has participated in important jazz festivals and has played alongside jazz stars, including Maynard Ferguson and Dizzy Gillespie, who confessed himself and admirer of the young Cuban jazz trumpeter. His brilliant technique and exceptional physical conditions have made him an acclaimed international trumpet player.

From an early age, he showed a precocious inclination towards music and would sing jus about anything, from opera arias to popular tunes. He was one of the founding members of the Havana Musical Theatre where he had a successful career as a musical comedian as well as a high jump athlete. He was one of the founders and more enthusiastic promoters of the Plaza Jazz Festival. Multi—instrumentalist, singer, composer, actor, painter. he is considered the number one Cuban showman.

He became extraordinarily famous and popular in Havana as a conga player and composer. His meeting in New York with Dizzy Gillespie became a landmark in Afro—Cuban jazz. His great sense of rhythm and amazing improvisations in compositions like Manteca, contributed to the consolidation of Cuban music in American jazz. He was murdered in a bar in Harlem.

Son of pianist, composer and bandleader Bebo Valdés, he made his professional debut at the age of 16 playing the piano in the Orquestra Cubana de Música Moderna and Irakere, which he founded and directs to this day. He has played with the most outstanding jazz figures in the most famous jazz venues and is considered one of the best pianists in the world. He has been hailed as one of the four best jazzmen, especially because of his powerful and clean technique, his versatility and very original instrumentations. Many of his compositions, including Misa negra, Las margaritas or Mambo influenciado, feature among the best of the international jazz repertoire. He has been awarded 5 Grammys from 1978 to 2004.

all—time cuban jazz musicians
The fertile and systematic cultural contact between Cuba and the United States throughout history shows a number of mutual influences or assimilations which enriched aspects of the cultural reality of both countries.Manners and customs, food and dress, religion and religiousness, architecture and image, sports and entertainment, have been systematically exchanged.

The movies, theatre, literature and, especially, music, have clasped in a close embrace beyond culture as it has become part of both countries' identities in modern times. Black American rhythms were assimilated into Cuban music while a number of Cuban musical genres have been influential in the rich sound of American music, especially jazz.