Cuba & Beyond

It's hard to put into words the impact of Chucho Valdés’ 60-year career in Cuban music, but his 13 Grammys speak for themselves. In celebration of his incomparable trajectory, the pianist and composer releases Cuba & Beyond with his Royal Quartet: Horacio El Negro Hernandez (drums), José A Gola (bass) and Roberto Jr Vizcaino (percussion). The first single ‘Tatomania’ features Roberto Jr Vizcaino (‘son of master percussionist Roberto Vizcaino’), who represents the new generation of Cuban percussionists. It opens with a frenetic percussion solo, with stabbing interjections from Valdés on the piano, before the rest of the band join, creating an interlocking, heavily grooved texture characteristic of Valdés’ unique brand of Latin jazz. Another favourite is ‘Armando's Rhumba’, a tribute to his idol and friend Chick Corea. Valdés said: “Chick has had so much of an influence on me… I've been performing ‘Armando's Rhumba’ live in concert since his unfortunate passing, and this is the first time we've recorded it.”