This CD is both historic and quite exciting.
Bebo Valdes (father of
Chucho, the leader of
Irakere) was one of the giants of Cuban jazz and popular music until he fled the country in 1960. Amazingly enough, he had not recorded since, despite living peacefully in Sweden. This recording is also significant in that it is one of the first times that Cuban exiles had recorded with Cubans still living under Castro (guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales and percussionist
Amadito Valdes).
Paquito D'Rivera (who organized this set) deserves a lot of credit for its success, but
Valdes is the real star. He composed eight new selections in the 36 hours before the recordings began, although he was 76 years old at the time. Although
Valdes claimed that, with the lack of sleep and excess of writing (he also arranged ten of the 11 songs), his fingers felt a bit stiff, he plays quite well throughout the very enjoyable music. The final results are full of strong melodies, stirring rhythms, exciting ensembles, and lots of variety. The instrumentation differs on each track, with plenty of solo space for
D'Rivera (on both alto and clarinet), trombonist
Juan-Pablo Torres (who takes "Veinte Anos" as a duet with
Valdes), trumpeter
Diego Urcola, and the pianist. The percussionists work together quite well behind the lead voices, and every selection is well worth hearing. This is one of the finest Afro-Cuban jazz recordings of recent times. Highly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow