Paris Gives Chucho Valdés a Standing Ovation

November 22, 2021

Chucho Valdés presented this past weekend a series of three concerts in the grand Pierre Boulez hall at the Philharmonie de París as part of his celebrations for turning 80 years old.

"Merci, Paris!" ("Thank you, Paris!"), Valdés wrote on his social media, along with a video in which he and his accompanists greet the audience and receive thunderous applause.

"I have always loved France, so I come to Paris to celebrate my birthday," the veteran pianist had declared to the French media a few days earlier.

The prestigious Parisian venue hosted a series of three concerts, inaugurated on Friday with a concert by young Cuban musicians in tribute to Valdés, in which the group "El Comité" participated along with Cuban violinist Yilian Cañizares.

Saturday was the turn of La Creación, a tribute to Yoruba culture in the Caribbean, while on Sunday, the "Chucho Valdés & Friends" event included the participation of Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Lovano, and Yilian Cañizares.

The Cuban virtuoso's French tour will continue in Courbevoie next Thursday and, on November 27th and 30th, in Bordeaux and Monte Carlo (Jazz Festival), respectively.

Dionisio Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, or Chucho, as he is known, is one of the most important Cuban composers and performers. He founded and led for decades the legendary lineup Irakere, which marked a sonic milestone in Cuban music.

After Irakere, Chucho went on to lead smaller musical formations, quartets, trios, and made numerous collaborations with other artists, from French singer Charles Aznavour, to saxophonist Archie Shepp, one of the fathers of Afro-American free jazz.

"Chucho is the most virtuosic in the world and at the same time the most moving, he can play 24,000 notes in a minute or two, everything he plays radiates emotion," summarized Harold López-Nussa, Cuban pianist invited to these days' presentations.

Pianist, composer, and arranger, Chucho Valdés has received six Grammy Awards and four Latin Grammys, plus another for Musical Excellence (2018) for his entire sixty-year career. He is a member of the Hall of Fame of Latin Composers.

Last week, the pianist expressed his support for the call for a peaceful march on November 15th in Cuba and questioned—like his colleagues Pablo Milanés and Leo Brower—the government repression against its promoters.