Hal Leonard Chucho Valdes Featuring Irakere

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that many jazz luminaries had of the group, how many different types of work that they realized... If you want to know what became of the greatest Cuban musician of the last thirty years, you will find the answers in this DVD. The brilliant pianist Jesus Chucho Valdes, the son of legendary pianist Bebo Valdes, founded Irakere in 1973. Irakere, named for a Yoruba word meaning Forest or Jungle. The band produced several major headliners over the years, notably trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and saxophonist Paquito DRivera, and his sound is a lush but quirky synthesis of Valdes Afro Cuban heritage and early classical training, plus bebob jazz. He draws heavily on Cuban folk sources, traditional rhythms, and country dances, but is just as likely to channel the spirits of Dizzy Gillespie or Charlie Parker or co author a tune with Mozart or Beethoven. An incredibly inventive and fluid pianist, revered as a natural treasure in Cuba, Chucho writes most of the bands compositions and arrangements. Directed by Ilena Rodriguez and with musical supervision by Maria Elena Mendiola this DVD tells the story of one of the most legendary groups in Cuban popular music Irakere.
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