Chucho Valdés & Irakere 50
Watch Video
On-Demand
Originally Filmed on FEB 16, 2024
7:30 PM PT (10:30 PM ET)
SFJAZZ MAGAZINE
› Five Decades and Counting: Chucho Valdés & Irakere Celebrate a Musical Revolution
SUPPORT
Experiencing any issues?
› At Home FAQ.
Need assistance? Any feedback?
›Email us.
This week on Fridays Live, we broadcast a live sold out performance from Cuban piano legend Chucho Valdés and his iconic Irakere group. A springboard from Valdes’ GRAMMY-winning Afro-Cuban Messengers band, Irakare 50 showcases a blazing new generation of rising Cuban musicians.
One of the finest jazz bands, regardless of style, in the world.
The Los Angeles Times on Irakere
ABOUT CHUCHO VALDES
The most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz for more than half a century, virtuoso pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdés returns with Irakere 50, the new iteration of the legendary band that changed the course of Latin music in the 1970s and 80s.
The son of Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés, the winner of seven GRAMMYs and four Latin GRAMMY Awards joined Armando Romeu’s celebrated Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music in 1967, a time when the communist government still considered American jazz anti-revolutionary. He was already recognized as the most formidable pianist of his generation when he launched Irakere in 1973 with a phenomenal cast that included saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.
Discovered and introduced internationally by Dizzy Gillespie, the band’s unprecedented synthesis of folkloric Afro-Cuban rhythms, sacred drums, rock, funk, R&B, and jazz opened up vast new frontiers, and helped pave the way for the pervasively popular dance music known as timba. Over the ensuing years, Valdés has concentrated on his career as a solo artist, recording 25 albums and co-writing the landmark 2018 book Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz in collaboration with SFJAZZ Director of Education Rebeca Mauleón.
A springboard from Valdes’ GRAMMY-winning Afro-Cuban Messengers band, Irakare 50 showcases a blazing new generation of Cuban talent.
Setlist, Personnel, & More
Available Now On-Demand
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
SFJAZZ 10th Anniversary ConcertFT. JOSHUA REDMAN, LAURIE ANDERSON, BILL FRISELL, EDWARD SIMON, MARCUS SHELBY & TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
AFRO-CUBAN ALL STARS W/ JUAN DE MARCOSOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
ANAT COHEN TENTETOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
BLUES LEGACIES & BLACK FEMINISMW/ MARCUS SHELBY, ANGELA DAVIS, TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON, TIA FULLER, TAMMY L. HALL, TIFFANY AUSTIN, PAULA WEST & KIM NALLEY
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
CARMINHOOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE QUINTETW/ NICOLE GLOVER, ELY PERLMAN, MIKE KING & SAVANNAH HARRIS
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
CHUCHO VALDÉS & DIANNE REEVESOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Chucho Valdés & Irakere 50On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA BANDOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Cosa Nostra StringsOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Dianne ReevesOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
DONNY MCCASLIN QUARTETOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Howard Wiley: California LoveOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA W/ WYNTON MARSALISOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
JOHN SCOFIELD & LETTUCEOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Johnathan Blake: My Life MattersW/ DAYNA STEPHENS, JALEN BAKER, FABIAN ALMAZAN & DEZRON DOUGLAS
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Kandace SpringsOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Kenny Barron QuintetW/ DAYNA STEPHENS, MIKE RODRIGUEZ, KIYOSHI KITAGAWA & JOHNATHAN BLAKE
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
LIZZ WRIGHTOn-Demand
Marcus MillerOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
MARK GUILIANA BEAT MUSICOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
McCoy Tyner TributeFT. JOE LOVANO, GARY BARTZ, EDDIE HENDERSON, GERALD CANNON, JEFF “TAIN” WATTS & KENNY BARRON
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Monsieur PerinéOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
PINK MARTINI W/ CHINA FORBESSFJAZZ At Home • On-Demand
Paolo AngeliOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Ravi Coltrane: Pharoah Sanders TributeOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
RHIANNON GIDDENS & FRANCESCO TURRISIOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
SFJAZZ COLLECTIVE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
SUN RA ARKESTRAOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
TAJ MAHAL: SAVOYOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
THELONIOUS MONK BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONW/ MARCUS SHELBY NEW ORCHESTRA, GERALD CLAYTON & BENNY GREEN
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
TONY WILLIAMS LIFETIME TRIBUTEW/ CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA, CARLOS SANTANA, JOHN MEDESKI, & VERNON REID
On-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
VERONICA SWIFTOn-Demand • SFJAZZ At Home
Zakir Hussain: Masters of Percussion