Chucho Valdés Announces Tribute to Irakere's 50th Anniversary

January 5, 2024

Renowned Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés announced that he will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the group Irakere with several concerts in U.S. cities.

"We're starting this year with the tribute to Irakere 50," wrote the multi-awarded artist from his Facebook profile.

Regarding the dates, he announced that the performances will take place in the cities of Miami and San Francisco during the upcoming month of February.

The first of them will be on February 9 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in the city of Miami.

The seven-time Grammy Award winner will be accompanied by other musicians of the caliber of José Gola, Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, Roberto Vizcaíno Jr., Eddy de Armas Jr. and Carlos Averhoff Jr., among others.

Without a doubt, Irakere revolutionized the popular dance genre in the Latin world and positioned jazz as never before in the Cuban musical scene. Its origins date back to 1962, when Chucho joined guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, to channel and experiment with new ideas through music.

This was followed by the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, where Chucho joined other promising young talents such as Enrique Plá (drums), Arturo Sandoval (trumpet), Jorge Varona (trumpet), Carlos Averhoff (tenor saxophone) and Carlos del Puerto (bass).

However, over time, Valdés felt he needed a change and created a trio with Del Puerto and Oscar Valdés that recorded the album Jazz Batá, in which they included the song "Irakere".

By 1972 they performed for the first time under the name of Irakere at the Amadeo Roldán theater in Havana with the show Encuentro Latinoamericano, surprising those present with their fusion of traditional Latin rhythms with jazz, blues and Cuban music.

Although initially they had a hard time being well received by the island's institutions, in 1973 their founding was authorized. At that time and during their early years, the group was made up of Chucho Valdés (piano, arrangements and compositions), Oscar Valdés (singer, percussion), Carlos Emilio Morales (guitar), Carlos del Puerto (bass), Jorge Varona (trumpet), Paquito D'Rivera (saxophone), Bernardo García (drums), Lázaro Alfonso (congas) and Carlos Averhoff (saxophone). Other artists would later join, such as Enrique Plá (drums).

The history of Irakere cannot be told without mentioning other musical talents who equally joined its ranks, such as Arturo Sandoval, Miguel Díaz "Angá" (percussion), Orlando Valle "Maraca" (flute), César López (alto saxophone), Germán Velazco (tenor saxophone), Jorge L. Chicoy (guitar), José Luis Cortés (baritone saxophone and flute) and José Miguel Crego "El greco" (trumpet), among others.

Their list of successes begins with their first major hit: "Bacalao con pan," followed by other anthological songs such as "Ese atrevimiento," "Valle de picadura," "Xiomara," "Cien años de juventud," "Estela va a estallar," "Juana 1600," "Dile a Catalina," "Por romper el coco," and "Baila mi ritmo," to name just a few.

In their portfolio they have a Grammy Award, obtained in the Best Latin Recording category in 1980, as well as a nomination in that same category in 1981 for 'Irakere 2' and in 1999 they were among the candidates to win the award in the Best Tropical Latin Album section, with the phonogram 'Babalú Ayé'.