Chucho Valdes & the Afro-Cuban Messengers: Chucho's Steps

"If you exclude his formative years with Cuban big bands (Sabor de Cuba of Bebo Valdes, Orquesta del Teatro Musical de La Habana ...), his real major, not only piano but mainly as a composer and arranger, takes off with his dedication to Irakere for twenty years. In the 1990s, after a few albums with singers, he began his recording as head of a quartet, with musical writing and a concept different from Irakere. But Chucho was simultaneously deepening and reshaping the new artistic form to [the] Afro-Cuban component in our music from his spiritual roots. [With] 'Chucho's Steps' in addition, there is an integration of its two last stages, extending the quartet format without being the 'orchestra' format. Most important in this process is to check the emphasis on writing and not just improvisation. It is interesting to note that other great and virtuos[o] jazz soloists today embark on a similar path, including Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Randy Weston and even Ornette Coleman" (CD notes by Leonardo Acosta).
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