Monday, September 14th at 7PM
Monday, September 14th 9:30PM
Tuesday, September 15th at 7PM
Tuesday, September 15th at 9:30PM
Cuban pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader Chucho Valdés, one of the most influential figures in modern Afro-Cuban jazz, was named a 2025 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. As noted in the NEA announcement, the distinction celebrates “a select number of living legends who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz.”
The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is the highest honor the United States bestows on jazz artists.
The recognition crowns a 60-year career that includes seven GRAMMY®, six Latin GRAMMY® Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, and being inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, Mr. Valdés, 83, keeps creating, still curious and restless.
In September 2024, he presented yet another brilliant ensemble, the Royal Quartet, featuring three generations of top Cuban musicians, including Horacio “El Negro” Hernández on drums; José A. Gola, bass; and Roberto Jr. Vizcaíno, percussion. The release of Cuba & Beyond (Innercat Music Group), which earned a Grammy nomination, marked the 60-year anniversary of Mr. Valdés’s recording debut, Jazz Nocturno (Areito, 1964).
Cuba & Beyond also served as a bookend for a year in which Valdés celebrated one of his most important achievements with Chucho Valdés: Irakere 50, a tribute to Irakere, the Cuban band he co-founded and led for more than three decades. With its bold fusion of Afro-Cuban ritual music, Cuban popular styles, jazz, rock, and classical music, Irakere opened new paths for Latin jazz.
