''Chucho's Steps'' is an album by

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist Chucho Valdés and his band, the Afro-Cuban Messengers. The album was released in 2010 by Four-Quarters Entertainment and was produced by Valdés, who also composed all of the music. It won the 2011

Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album The Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the Latin jazz ...

. Some of the tracks were written in honor of

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

, "Zawinul's Mambo", and the Marsalis family, "New Orleans". In addition to his regular sidemen, Valdés employed additional musicians, including singer/percussionist Dreiser Durruthy Bombale.

Overview

''Chucho's Steps'' is Valdés's first solo album since 2003's ''New Conceptions''. Recorded at Abdala studio the acoustic album incorporates jazz,

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

, swing and

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

ritual music. In February 2011 ''Chucho's Steps'' won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.

The band

Valdés expanded his band, the Afro-Cuban Messengers, the name a reference to

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

's Jazz Messengers, from a trio to a

sextet A sextet (or hexad) is a formation containing exactly six members. The former term is commonly associated with vocal ensembles (e.g. The King's Singers, Affabre Concinui) or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six ...

for this recording. In addition to his regular sidemen, percussionist Yaroldy Abreu Robles, bassist Lazaro Rivero Alarcón, and drummer Juan Carlos De Castro "Rojo" Blanco, are a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the term ...

, trumpeter Reynaldo Melián Álvarez and saxophonist Carlos Miyares Hernández, and singer/percussionist Dreiser Durruthy Bombale.

Selected tracks

The album's opening track, "Zawinul's Mambo", is dedicated to Austrian keyboardist

. Valdés, who had been playing the piece as early as 2007, thought that Zawinul had died before ever hearing it, but in 2010 a Zawinul interview surfaced that contained him hearing a recording of the piece from a jazz festival in

Marciac Marciac (, , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gers Departments of France, department, Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, southwestern France. It is known for its annual international music festival, festival Jazz in Marciac, ...

. The track "Begin to Be Good" is a nod to

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

's "

Begin the Beguine "Begin the Beguine" is a popular song written by Cole Porter. Porter composed the song during a 1935 Pacific cruise aboard the Cunard ocean liner ''Franconia'' from Kalabahi, Indonesia, to Fiji. In October 1935, it was introduced by June Knigh ...

" and

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

's " Lady Be Good". American musicals were a part of Valdés's childhood, and "Begin the Beguine" became a favorite song of his. EllisMarsalisJr

The track "New Orleans" is a homage to the musical Marsalis family. Valdés's relationship with, Ellis Marsalis, the Marsalis patriarch goes back to 1979. In October 2010

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, and music instructor, who is currently the artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has been active in promoting classical and jazz music, often to young ...

travelled to Havana for a week-long series of shows with an aim of easing Cuba – United States relations. "Yansa" was inspired by the

Yoruba religion The Yorùbá religion (Yoruba language, Yoruba: Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), West African Orisa (Òrìṣà), or Isese (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in pres ...

, specifically a call to the deity

Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...

, the track is highlighted by the vocals of Dreiser Durruthy Bombale. "Julian" is an ode to Valdés 3-year-old son. The title track, "Chucho's Steps", references

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

's composition "

Giant Steps ''Giant Steps'' is a studio album by the jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released in January or February 1960 through Atlantic Records. This was Coltrane's first album as leader for the label, with which he had signed a new contract the previ ...

Reception

Reviews of ''Chucho's Steps'' were positive.

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

reviewer Jerry D'Souza called the album "another master work from the genius of Chucho Valdés". In Howard Reich's review in the ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

'' he called Valdés a "virtuoso of the highest order". In ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' Mike Joyce called the album a "keyboard tour de force" In Jeff Simon's review in ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

'' he singled out the performances of drummer Juan Carlos De Castro "Rojo" Blanco and saxophonist Carlos Miyares Hernández, calling them "impressive players anywhere". Rebeca Mauleón in ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'' called the album "almost as good as seeing aldéslive". ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

's'' Brick Wahl called the album "exceptional", Valdés's playing "revelatory" and the band "just great". William Ruhlmann of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

call the album a "versatile set demonstrating aldés'scontinuing vitality and invention".

Track listing

''All tracks written by Chucho Valdés'' #"Las dos Caras" 8:54 #"Danzón" 9:07 #"Zawinul's Mambo" 11:21 #"Begin to Be Good" 5:12 #"New Orleans" 4:42 #"Yansá" 7:49 #"Julián" 7:52 #"Chucho's Steps" 10:52

Personnel

* Chucho Valdés – piano * Reynaldo Melián Álvarez – trumpet * Carlos Miyares Hernández – tenor saxophone * Lazaro Rivero Alarcón – bass, choir * Juan Carlos De Castro "Rojo" Blanco – drums * Yaroldy Abreu Robles – percussion, choir * Dreiser Durruthy Bombale – vocals, percussion * Yemi Menocal – choir * Baira Fermina Ramirez – choir

Production

*Lorena Salcedo – executive producer *Rita Rosa – production assistant *Estrabao Verdecia – production assistant *Orestes Avila –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, mastering, mixing *Rebeca Alderete Bauta – assistant engineer *Amed Fernández Martínez – assistant engineer *Victor Cicard – mastering *Leonardo Acosta –

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

*Alejandro Pérez – artwork, design, photography *Pedro Vazquez – artwork, design

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2010 albums Chucho Valdés albums Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album