I went to see Chucho Valdes and his quartet last night at the Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront. It's part of the Toronto Jazz Festival. The elevator at Union Station was broken so that screwed things up. Valdes is currently touring across Canada. He's already one of the all time greats of jazz piano and he's not slowing down in his old age. He also brought his sister Maryiam Caridad Valdes with him and she sang a couple of songs. He also brought percussionist Yaroldi Abreu who is a member of his band Akokan Ire. I've always like Valdes aggressive style. He grew up in the music business. His dad is a pianist and Valdes draws on a lot of different influences including bebop, classical and of course Cuban dance band music. He's very versatile and most fans are familiar with his big band Irakere but a smaller band showcases his technique. It's fascinating watching his hands. It was a very tight band. These guys knew what they were doing and he's a great leader. His sister seemed out of place but I know she tours with him regularly. Overall it was very enjoyable and I know Chucho Valdes is appearing at the Montreal Jazz Festival and other jazz festivals across Canada so be sure to check him out.
Sister out of place? Hardly. Think you were the only person at the gig who thought so. The crowd loved her and Chucho.
ReplyDeleteActually, I also found her sister to be out of place and also the weaker part of the performance. Great stage presence and very dramatic looking, but I would have traded her 2/3 songs for just 2 mins of Chucho's solo piano playing. Just my 2 cents.
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