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At 84, Bebo Valdés is doing some of the most interesting work of
his storied career
By Manuel Pila. Posted on Fri, Nov. 22, 2002 inThe Miami Herald .
 You know
the real thing when you hear it. It's Louie Armstrong blasting the soul of
Storyville through his trumpet, or Billie Holiday singing the wee-hour blues.
It's Mahalia Jackson wailing ''Wade in the Water'' like she's been to the river
countless times and it's never been dry.
Bebo Valdés carries the authentic sound of the Caribbean in his
fingertips. ''My calling is to play Cuban music, and I will never abandon it,''
the 84-year-old pianist and composer says from a New York recording studio
moments after wrapping up work on one of four (!) new albums he will record this
month.
This kind of understatement is typical of the humble master musician. On
this day he has been laying down lively Latin jazz with an octet, and he seems
elated with the results. Earlier this month, Valdés ventured into a
Madrid studio with flamenco singer Diego ''El Cigala,'' who will join Valdés
onstage when he performs Friday at the newly restored Olympia Theater in
downtown Miami. During his stay in South Florida, Valdés is slated to
record a duet album with violinist Federico Britos Ruiz. But it is Valdés'
recently completed Afro-Cuban Suite recording that is raising eyebrows. Boasting
a 20-piece big band that Bebo calls ''the greatest orchestra I've ever had in my
life,'' the realization of his seven-part opus seems to have stunned even the
maestro himself. ''It surprised me, how good it sounds,'' Valdés says.
Producer Nat Chediak, who is behind Friday's show, is less diplomatic about
it. ''This thing was blowing minds left and right in the studio,'' Chediak says.
``The 20 musicians on this suite are all masters. I mean, they've heard it all.
But they'd never heard anything like this. This is a labor of love, and I hope
that people will respond to it.''
For Valdés, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind of rehearsing,
recording, traveling and mixing that have kept him away from his home in
Stockholm, but have given him great satisfaction. ''I admit, this is a new
record in my life, to make four completely different albums in a month,'' Valdés
laughs. ``But after 84 years, God has given me the health to do this, so I'll
keep putting it out.''
Bebo Valdés is putting it out like never before, and the world is
listening. His most recent release, last year's El Arte del Sabor, won a Grammy
for Best Traditional Latin Album, Valdés' first Grammy since his career
began 66 years ago. Recorded in New York in 2000 during the filming of the music
documentary Calle 54, El Arte del Sabor featured Valdés in a rare trio
setting with Cachao on bass and Patato Valdés on percussion. ''I was
honored to win a Grammy at my age, but I am happy because that album has great
importance to me,'' Valdés says. ``All the songs are old compositions by
Cuban composers, many of whom are now forgotten. I made a pact with Cachao that
we had to preserve these songs, so that we don't lose our culture, because many
of these old songs are in danger of being lost forever. That's why it's so
important for us to play this music. As long as I live, I will play Cuban music.
The music gives me life.''
His life began in 1918 in the tiny village of Quivicán, about 20
miles outside of Havana. In 1936, Valdés began making a name for himself
as the pianist for the Julio Cueva Orchestra. He soon joined the Armando Romeu
Orchestra at the Hotel Tropicana, where he became musical director and worked
with top performers like Beny Moré throughout the 1940s. In 1952, Valdés
led the first Cuban jazz descargas for producer Norman Granz and helped pave the
way for what would become ''Latin jazz.'' Along the way he served as pianist for
Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona's television program, El Show de Lecuona.
In 1960 he departed from Cuba as part of an exodus of musicians, leaving
behind his prodigiously talented son, pianist-composer and Irakere founder
Chucho Valdés, and daughter Mayra with the idea of returning after the
failure of Castro's revolution. He has not returned to the island since. In
1963, he met his second wife in Stockholm and there he settled into a life of
domestic bliss and relative obscurity.
In 1994, saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera invited Valdés to bring eight
new compositions to a German recording studio where he had gathered an excellent
backing band of young all-stars. The critically lauded Bebo Rides Again
(Messidor) would jump-start a career that had laid dormant for more than three
decades. In 1996, Valdés made his South Florida debut with an emotional
concert at Gusman Center, backed by childhood friends Luis Miranda on congas and
Cachao on bass. The audience received him with a thunderous ovation. He was
nervous. His delicate hand shook as he reached for his arrangements. But then he
looked at his colleagues on the stage, smiled like a schoolboy, and his long
fingers settled comfortably among the familiar keys. By the time he played the
classic bolero ''Veinte Años,'' the audience was inspired to sing along.
In 2000, Valdés participated in Fernando Trueba's Calle 54, a
documentary that captured the world's top Latin jazz musicians performing for
the cameras. But none of the other performances could match the beauty of
watching Bebo and his son, Chucho, perhaps the most important Cuban musician of
his generation, sitting across from each other at two pianos and improvising on
the Lecuona classic ''La Comparsa.'' The stage was set for his triumphant return
to Miami for a sold-out after-concert following the film's premiere.
His latest Miami appearance comes on the heels of growing international
recognition that has preceded his recent Grammy for El Arte del Sabor. For Bebo,
the upcoming show holds special significance. ''When I play in Miami, I know I
am playing in the capital of Cuba in exile,'' Valdés says. "It is
very important for me, because this is as close as I get to home.''
In other words, expect to hear the real thing, as raw and sweet as guarapo.
''I don't gush often, but in the case of Bebo, anything I say is an
understatement,'' Chediak says. "Miami is nowhere near ready for what Bebo
is going to do.''
DETAILS: Bebo Valdés performs at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov., 22, at the
Olympia Theater at Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, 174 E. Flagler Street,
Miami. Tickets are $20-$40; info: 305-358-5885 or www.ticketmaster.com. |
