'Chucho' Valdes Gets Berkeley Crowd Jumping 

Philip Elwood, Chronicle Jazz Critic
Friday, April 6, 2001
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle.

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/06/DD36274.DTL

A couple of hours listening to pianist Jesus "Chucho" Valdes and his backup trio is comparable to experiencing a tropical storm front passing over the Caribbean.

Playing for an enthusiastic and friendly crowd at Zellerbach Auditorium on Wednesday night, Valdes plunged into a nonstop 110-minute performance that roamed through contemplative melodic improvisations, occasional references to classical piano styles, considerably more bits of jazz (from "Milestones" to "Satin Doll") and torrents of Cuban and Afro-Cuban numbers with mambo, rumba, salsa and other Latin dance rhythms.

By the time he had become leader and pianist of the famed Irakere band in 1967 (saxist Paquito D'Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval were co-founders), Valdes had already been a member of the Orquesta de Musica Moderna and had been recording since 1959, when he was in his teens.

When Irakere played a Newport-New York Jazz Festival concert in 1978 (the first Castro-era Cuban jazz group allowed to play in the United States), Valdes' keyboard performance within the band helped create a frenzied, dancing spree that jammed the Carnegie Hall aisles and lobby.

At Zellerbach, the response to Valdes -- and, especially, his conga-playing percussionist Yaroldy Abreu -- was a jumping, jubilant one, but without signs of dancing.

At 6 feet 6 inches, with hands that can easily stretch to 10th chords (most of us are lucky to handle octaves -- eight notes), Valdes is in total control of the keyboard. He flies through choruses with two-handed arpeggios walking up and down the keys, throwing in runs that sometimes refer to jazz giants Art Tatum or Bud Powell.

He's at his friskiest on light, melodic waltzes and often plays two-handed duets -- crossing hands as the left plays the treble melody, the right rhythmically chording.

His shifting from Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood" to a lusty Latin- beat rendition of "Caravan" (written by Duke's Cuban trombonist, Juan Tizol) gave Abreu a chance to move from soft percussion to strong rhythmic conga sounds.

Valdes holds verbal comments to a minimum, never introducing tunes or his trio -- other than Abreu. Bassist Lazaro Rivero and jazz drummer Ramses Rodriguez kept a strong, pulsing rhythm throughout.

Abreu's unbelievably fast hand drumming and his shifts in dynamics were, for the most part, smoothly integrated into Valdes' fantastically complex keyboard patterns. The pair's duets -- apparently spontaneous improvisations --

were the concert's highlights.

In solo performance, Valdes tends toward ballads and European classical music references; playing in a quartet, the mood is livelier -- more outgoing and demonstrative.

E-mail Philip Elwood at pelwood@sfchronicle.com.

©2002 San Francisco Chronicle