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Jazz and Cuba Meet in Class Full of Insights By JONATHAN IRABAGON
Long, sweeping melodies transform into lightning-fast note flurries. An
energized Latin groove mixes in intricate harmonies and uninhibited
improvisation, only to end abruptly on a brilliant run. In this way, legendary
pianist, composer, and bandleader Chucho Valdez began his master class in
Afro-Cuban music for Juilliard jazz students on December 10. Mr. Valdez's
extraordinary presence commanded respect and attention for the duration of the
two-hour class, which included student improvisations, an insightful
question-and-answer session, and an inspiring final performance in which Mr.
Valdez performed one of his most famous pieces with the Juilliard Jazz
Ensemble.
Chucho Valdez was born in Quivican, Cuba, on October 9, 1941, to a musical
family. The son of world-renowned pianist and composer Bebo Valdez, Mr. Valdez
gives much of the credit of his musical success to the recordings his father
constantly had in rotation around the house at all hours of the day, which
included both jazz and Cuban folk records. This integration of musical styles
became a staple of Chucho's pianistic and compositional voice. When he was 26,
he formed and led the incredibly successful Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna,
featuring many of his own compositions. He took the key players from this
orchestra and formed Cuba's all-time top jazz orchestra, Irakere, in 1973—the
band that helped launch the careers of trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and
multi-reedist Paquito D'Rivera.
Mr. Valdez soon became a national treasure, and has been called "the Duke
Ellington of Cuba," due to his wide-ranging influence. He also helped to start
and organize the Havana Jazz Festival, where he and trumpeter Roy Hargrove
found common musical ground. This chemistry led to a Grammy award-winning CD,
titled Cristol, which celebrates the
joining of jazz and Cuban music. Mr. Valdez's unique style draws not only from
Cuban folk music, but also from the tradition of jazz's greatest pianists,
most notably Art Tatum, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, and Cecil Taylor.
It is this understanding of and respect for jazz's legacy that made Chucho
Valdez the perfect ambassador and instructor for a Juilliard Jazz Studies
master class. "His style emphasizes jazz and Cuban music's similarities,"
explained Juilliard pianist Drew Pierson. "You can hear the assimilation of
the jazz tradition immediately, mixed in with the rhythmic complexities of
Cuban music. Meeting someone that has both styles mastered was definitely
inspiring."
Speaking through an interpreter, Mr. Valdez explained: "What is important in
both jazz and Cuban music? The important thing is always the phrase
. Breathe through the music and each other." This advice was quickly engaged
by the three student jazz ensembles, each of which performed a prepared piece.
The first ensemble performed legendary percussionist Mongo Santamaria's "Are
They Only Dreams?" Mr. Valdez utilized his years of bandleading experience and
took the five-piece horn section to an inspired, new level of balance and
unity. "Think more in the collective
than in the individual. Allow each horn's individual sound to melt
into the other sounds."
The next group took this suggestion to heart immediately in their performance
of "Dance of Denial," by Michael Mossman. The more aggressive melody and
complex improvisations, featuring the drums heavily, were handled with
professionalism and finesse. Mr. Valdez took this opportunity to address the
rhythm section. "The drummer's job in Cuban music is to fill up and emphasize
the sounds that the conga and clave players are creating." Drummer Ulysses
Owens said, "It was inspiring to get instruction from someone who not only
knows his own role in many different musical situations, but also the
drummer's. He quickly recognized the different challenges that each section
faces when playing Cuban music, and was able to show us how to get the music
and feeling across more effectively—without using a word of English! It goes
to show how music crosses all boundaries, including language."
The final group was joined by Mr. Valdez in a high-energy rendition of his own
composition, "Mambo Influenziado." This piece combines the harmonic movement
found in jazz with the spirited Cuban rhythms he grew up with. Mr. Valdez
said, "I added the blues to the dance rhythms from my country. I found that
mixing jazz and Cuban elements helped to lead to a more exciting and
well-rounded environment to perform in." This performance helped prove that
point, with Mr. Valdez's piano solo leading to an inspiring and rhythmic
finish that brought the students and faculty to their feet.
Artist Diploma candidate Matthew McDonald explained, "Mr. Valdez helped get
rid of the mystique of Cuban music being foreign and something totally
different. He helped show it to us in terms we could understand, and gave us
ideas on how to formulate our own styles. And forming our own styles is what
music is ultimately about." Jonathan Irabagon is an Artist Diploma candidate in jazz studies.
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