Jesús Valdés, popularly known as Chucho Valdés, was born in October 1941 in Quivicán, a municipality in the province of Havana. He was the son of pianist, composer, and conductor Bebo Valdés.

He began his musical studies at the age of six, studying music theory with Professor Oscar Boufartique. He enrolled at the Municipal Conservatory of Havana, where he studied with Ángela Quintana, and later with Zenaida Romeu and Rosario Franco; two teachers who greatly influenced his musical development. Valdés completed his musical studies by graduating from the Higher Institute of Art in Havana.

Chucho performed for the first time as a pianist, playing with the Sabor de Cuba orchestra, directed by his father, when he was only sixteen years old.

He joined the orchestra belonging to the Teatro Musical de La Habana in the early 1960s. In this orchestra, he worked with important musicians such as Federico Smith, Alberto Alonso, and Leo Brouwer. In 1967, he joined the Cuban Modern Music Orchestra, organized by Armando Romeu.

In 1970, he performed at a festival in Warsaw, playing in a quintet that included Rivera and Orlando López (Chacaíto), among others. There, he was encouraged to continue exploring Afro-Cuban roots in jazz by Dave Brubeck.

It was then that Chucho returned to Havana and brought together several of the most important solo musicians who were part of the Cuban Modern Music Orchestra to found his group Irakere. With this group, Valdés worked to rescue the roots of Cuban music, blending them with other expressive components. In other words, they fused elements of jazz, classical music, and rock with Cuban music and rhythms.

Chucho has made numerous recordings, both solo and in ensembles. With Roy Hargrove’s group Crisol, he recorded Habana; he also recorded a delightful four-hand Manisero performed with his father; and a bolero album with Omara Portuondo. Two of his solo recordings stand out: Pianissimo and Lucumí, considered his masterpiece, which demonstrates a rich melody tied to Afro-Cuban tradition.

Valdés has performed live alongside some of New York’s finest Latin musicians. In 2000, he participated in the filming of the feature-length documentary Calle 54 by Spanish composer Fernando Trueba, featuring the genre’s most prominent musicians.

Among his best-known creations are: Mercy cha, Niña, Por la libre, Valle Picadura (Danzón), Misa Negra (for piano), Juana 1600, Calzada del Cerro, Las Margaritas and Mambo Influenciado, among others.

At 69 years old, Chucho has created a new group called the Afro-Cuban Messengers. The distinguished Cuban musician said the name of his new group is a tribute to the Jazz Messengers. The group is made up of some of the most talented young Cuban musicians.

In 2010, Chucho won a Grammy for “Juntos para siempre” in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album. For Valdés, this award is the most significant of his wins, given that it is the first album he recorded with his father, Bebo. Upon receiving the statuette, Chucho dedicated the golden gramophone to his father’s mother.

Chucho Valdés is considered one of the world’s finest pianists and, according to international critics, one of the four best jazz musicians on the planet. He is a master of all musical genres, including jazz, classical, and popular Cuban dance music.

He has been awarded several national prizes: 1998. National Music Prize – 1998. “Félix Varela” Order – 1988. “Alejo Carpentier” Medal.

His performing talent has been internationally recognized with the awarding of honorary doctorates in music by the University of Victoria in Canada, Berkeley, and the University of Havana. He was also presented with Cuba’s Félix Varela Medal, the keys to the cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Madison, and Nevilly in the United States, and the keys to Ponce in Puerto Rico.

Chucho Valdés has received six Grammy Awards: in 1978 for Misa Negra performed with the Iraqere Group; in 1996 for Crisol of Havana, an album co-starring trumpeter Roy Hargrove and a Cuban-American-Puerto Rican band; in 2001 for Live at the Vanguard Village, a concert at this legendary New York club; in 2002 for the CD Canciones inéditas, produced by EGREM, which won the Best Pop Instrumental Album category; in 2004 for his album New Conceptions in the Best Latin Jazz Album category; and in 2010 for Juntos para siempre, in which he maintains a pianistic dialogue with his father and teacher, Bebo Valdés.