[Many thanks to Ricky Castro for bringing this item to our attention.] Chucho Valdés (né José Luis Niemann) and Irakere have been on tour, celebrating [over] fifty years since the founding of the Cuban band that became a household name in Latin jazz, with a fusion of Afro-Cuban ritual music, Cuban popular music styles, and jazz and rock. Presently on tour in the United States, Irakere will perform in Puerto Rico, before continuing its series of concerts in Europe.

Chucho Valdés: Irakere 50 will be on stage on June 2, 2024, at 6:00pm at the Centro de Bellas Artes [Center for Fine Arts] in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Description: Irakere came to international attention thanks to Dizzy Gillespie, who was visiting Havana on a jazz cruise in 1977. The following year, producer Bruce Lundvall, then president of CBS, went to Cuba on Dizzy’s advice, heard the band live and signed it… period. The same year, Irakere debuted, without warning, as “surprise guests” at Carnegie Hall as part of the Newport Jazz Festival. Selections from that performance were later included on Irakere (CBS), the band’s US debut recording. The album won a Grammy for Best Latin Recording in 1979. Irakere’s innovative sound forever changed the landscape of Cuban music and influenced generations of musicians to follow. While members like Paquito D’Rivera and Arturo Sandoval came and went, Chucho remained with Irakere until 2005. Through the many changes the band experienced over the years, he remained the one constant factor. In 2015, Chucho celebrated the 40th anniversary of the birth of Irakere, his iconic band, with a world tour. Tribute to Irakere: Live in Marciac (Jazz Village/Comanche Music), which captured a performance on that tour, won a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in 2016.

A springboard from Chucho’s Grammy-winning band Afro-Cuban Messengers, Irakere 50 is both a retrospective of his celebrated career and a showcase for a fiery new generation of Cuban talent. Chucho says: “When I decided to do a tribute to that wonderful band, I also decided that I didn’t want to do it with the founding members but with musicians from the generations of musicians who grew up and learned from Irakere. I thought it would be more meaningful. It is a tribute from one generation to another.”

For more information and tickets, go to https://ticketera.com/chuchovaldesirakere50/