Jazz Articles

Paquito Hechavarria: Frankly

by Dan Bilawsky
February 9, 2010

Pianist Francisco “Paquito" Hechavarría might be best known for his work on Gloria Estefan's “Conga," but that record barely scratches the surface in showing what he's capable of playing. Smoking tumbao-based patterns seem to be embedded in his musical DNA: Hechavarría grew up in pre-Castro Cuba and soaked up the rhythms and sounds of his native land. He spent some time as the director and pianist of Orquesta Riverside, and even had the opportunity to record with Mongo Santamaría when ...

Bebo Valdes & Javier Colina: Live At The Village Vanguard

by Mark Corroto
September 19, 2008

The comparison between pianists Bebo Valdés and his son Chucho Valdés could be likened to the choice of the Beatles (Bebo) to the Rolling Stones (Chucho). A more likely frame of reference would be Bebo as the Cuban version of Hank Jones and Chucho that of Don Pullen.Like Jones, Bebo started as an accompanist, only to shine as a soloist in his later years. Now nearly 90, his music just seems to get better and better. This session ...

Bebo Valdes and Frederico Britos: We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together

by Geoff Mirelowitz
June 1, 2007

A more apt title would be hard to find for this intriguing piano/violin excursion into the music of the Americas. And the music could hardly be placed in more talented hands. Bebo Valdés is not only a giant of Cuban music, he is a giant of the jazz piano, period. Though perhaps not as widely known, Uruguayan violinist Frederico Britos has won Grammys for work with Charlie Haden and Israel “Cachao Lopez. His virtuoso performance on this album confirms he ...

Bebo Valdes & Frederico Britos: We Could Make Such Beautiful Music Together

by Jerry D'Souza
February 25, 2007

Bebo Valdes and Federico Britos are an inspired pairing. Valdes, who has been living in Stockholm since 1963, is one of the prime figures of Cuban jazz. The pianist made his biggest impact in the '40s and '50s, before he left the country in 1960. He kept to himself until 1994, when he emerged from his cocoon to record again. Among his recordings was the solo piano effort Bebo (Calle 54, 2006), which won the Latin Grammy Award for Best ...

Bebo Valdes: Bebo

by Victor Verney
January 28, 2007

Bebo Valdés Bebo Calle 54 2006

Bebo Valdés is more than the ranking patriarch of Cuban pianists: he is a living archive of the piano literature of Cuba, as this eponymously titled release amply demonstrates. More than simply a solo album--amazingly, his first ever--this release is a comprehensive survey of the grand sweep of Cuba's piano canon, a rich and storied tradition to which Valdés is heir and guardian.

Valdés (b. 1918) ...

Bebo Vald: Bebo de Cuba

by Russ Musto
November 19, 2005

This landmark set superbly documents the wide ranging talents of one of Cuba's greatest artists--expatriate pianist/composer/arranger Bebo Valdés--in the company of an impressive cast of New York's finest Latin jazz instrumentalists. The first disc, Suite Cubana, features the pianist, father of the more famous Chucho Valdés, leading an all-star big band through a collection of original compositions that revisit the classic sound of the golden age of Cuban music in a variety of infectious rhythms (mambo, bembé, son, guaracha, guajira, ...