Chucho Valdés

Chucho Valdés is a Cuban jazz pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger, born in Quivicán in 1941 and the son of pianist Bebo Valdés. His music blends traditional Cuban forms with modern jazz and is central to Afro-Cuban jazz. In 1973 he founded Irakere, an ensemble that bridged songo and Afro-Cuban jazz, and he has won seven Grammys as a solo artist, including for "Live at the Village Vanguard" (2000).