Customer Reviews

Bele Bele En La Habana

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4 star:		(5)
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Chucho Valdes was nominated last year for a Grammy for this CD. He did not win, but should have. This is one of the finest Latin music CDs you will ever hear.

Yes, it qualifies as "Latin Jazz", but it is Latin music at its best. No, you will not hear any of the cuts from this CD on your typical urban FM radio stations--the ones which play mostly inane merengues and stupidly formulaic "salsa". Yes, folk, this CD is Latin music for intelligent listeners.

All the cuts are instrumental, except for the last one which has a background chorus singing a couple of refrains here and there.

This album was highly recommended in Time magazine. When I first heard it I was a little disappointed: I expected an astonishing blast which didn't appear at first. Instead, it grows on you: that marvellous phenomenom where an album sounds better (more interesting, more beautiful) the more you listen to it: it is now one of my favourite jazz albums, up there with "Kind of Blue". La sitiera is especially breath-taking.

I saw Chucho play live at Symphony Hall in Chicago about 3 years ago. Our seats were in the very last row, and the sound quality was just horrible...but I could hear enough to know that his group was really cooking. So I finally broke down and got "Bele Bele en La Habana", and wow, am I glad I did. Not only is the sound quality terrific (check out the bass drum kicks on La Sitiera), but the performances are just amazing. This is complex, incredible music, and has appeal that goes well beyond the confines of jazz and latin genres.

This music is from another universe. Its message is beyond what music can transmit. It's a diplomatic offer, which acoustically illustrates what music can do because it does not respect political borders. There is hardly any Latin element in the first track and I feel a bit lost hearing and trying to understand these pure jazz interpretations, which are technically first class. There is even no audience applause not a single moan of a lost jazz soul, who could share my solitude, when I start to hear this opus. Step to step as the tracks continue Chucho's Afro-Latin soul expands and I understand that this is an offer to the US and the remaining world of jazz. His arrangement tells me: "We come to you, start with your jazz elements and then go into Cuban Latin jazz. Do the same and come to us. Let's start interaction. !!!" When I reach to hear track number six I must cry because I am mentally in Cuba and I hear a music, which could have been played almost 30 years ago if the political scene would not have interrupted the intellectual and artistic exchange of fine arts between New York, Miami and Havana. But at the end of the preludium of track six (Tres Lindas Cubanas), on the border of suffering a concussion, a flying rumba, which would have probably taken my mind, Chucho tells my with a drumming staccato on his piano: "Hey, we are alive and this is real music and we tell you our story!!! What then comes is acoustical transcendence, it's a drug, which you are addicted instantly (Time from 6 July, 1998 "Don't even try to resist"). The torque of this sound even pulls the fattest dinosaurier out of the tropical mud ! I only can repeat: Do not even try to resist. This is highly contagious stuff and should be kept out of reach of sensible jazz hearts. It's the type of volatile stuff which should be kept well under lock and key and with a big sticker on it saying: Do only hear with your parents !

Jesus"Cucho" Valdes will over power you at first with his titanic technique and rhtymic sophistication. Hang on! His artistry blends Afro Cuban music with African American Classical musical improvisations that will leave you breathless and in awe. The durability of this music is what earns the classical label.There is no doubt in my mind that fifty year from now listeners will marvel at the fire and majesty of the players who work with a telepathic unity. It is a recording that any serious devotee of the genre must have!

It's taken me a while to get into this CD. Valdez has technique and skills to burn and I originally found his virtuosity was hiding the music for me. But, I persisted and now this CD is daily fare. Start with "But not for me" and "La Sitiera" to get the beauty and subtlety and then allow yourself to get whacked by "Son Montuno". Enjoy!

The energy is high, and there's a nice balance between instrumentals and vocal numbers. Chucho's pianistic talents are well displayed. This was my first purchase, and I plan to watch for more offerings from Chucho. (I reserve 5 stars for classics like Kind of Blue or BATAT.)

I first heard a track from Valdes' "Lucumi" album on a sampler CD and I bought "Bele Bele..." and "Briyumba Palo Congo" wanting to hear more. There's no doubt that Valdes is brilliant, but you have to enjoy lightning speed to enjoy these two recordings. Even at his most relaxed he pounds rather hard here. I'm still trying to get a copy of "Lucumi." On the track I heard there, "Adiva," Valdes seemed to combine classical with a touch of gospel--tender and thoughtful. I don't mean to downgrade his other recordings. I was just in the mood for something quieter.

Bele Bele en La Habana Musicians Alain Pérez Rodriquez, Acoustic bass, vocals; Roberto Vizcaìno Guillot, congas, percussion; Raúl Píneda Roque, drums

Compositions Son Montuno, Lorraine, But not for me, Con poco coco, El cumbanchero, Tres lindas Cubanas, La sitiera, Los Caminos

Review I wrote a piece, not too long ago, about four incredible Latin Jazz pianists that had shaken the jazz community with their amazing dexterity and original contributions. Without further delay or hesitation let me now enter, a fifth, Chucho Valdés. Chucho was, of course, one of the founders and key members of the revolutionary group of the Seventies coming from Havana Cuba, Irakere. A group that combined Jazz, fusion, rock, classic Cuban and African music to blend into what was some of the most exciting and original forms of contemporary sounds of that era. Along with Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval, Chucho and the rest of the group were bold and daring sounding larger than life. They seemed to stretch far beyond their own capabilities and limitations to reach into areas never dreamed of. This is what Chucho demands and gets from all the musicians that have ever played with him.

Bele Bele en La Habana (Somethin's Happening in Havana) offers us Chucho with a smaller group. On this CD his style is showcased and we hear his unique offerings backed with fierce and original sounding rhythms. Son Montuno opens with a quick up tempoed line of Chucho's. Here he further explores the keyboard and we hear echoes of Ellington, Earl Hines, Gershwin, Bud Powell and much more. They've all filtered through this son of Ramon Valdes, who taught Chucho all of the facets of Cuban Musical history. Later in his life, Dizzy Gillespie would add to the mix. So, with the dexterity and technique of this big man from Cuba we have a Latin Jazz master, who's become an identifiable icon.

Lorraine is a Balada Cha that shows us the warmer and more personable side of Chucho. The rhythm groves nicely, hand in glove, accompanying Chucho. But not for me is Gershwin gone Mambo. Chucho gives a nice reading to the Evergreen. Con poco coco (Without Much Thought) is a Descarga showing Chucho doing what he does best, producing what I like to call "Sweat Swing." Sweat Swing is that feeling and sensation the listener gets when he's moved and taken to another level by some unpredictable and swinging music. Listen to some neat quotes from Dizzy embedded into his solo. Again, enough can't be said about this great rhythm backing him. Roberto Vizcaìno Guillot is a congero to be contended with. In the world and sudden onslaught, the likes of Giovanni Hidalgo and Richie Flores, we may want to be adding the name, Roberto Vizcaìno Guillot to the list of percussionists with a new approach. El cumbanchero is a Chucho reading and updating of the great Latin American standard written by Puerto Rico's father of music, Rafael Hernández. Tres lindas Cubanas begins someplace in the music palaces of the Delta or New Orleans soundin! g like a rag. But then, Ahhh, Chucho makes it into a sexy swaying danzón that distantly resembles The Peanut Vendor in some ways. Chucho is like a tour guide taking us into the back streets and neighborhoods of Havana. One could almost feel, smell, hear and see the various colors and rhythms through his swaying and sensuous interpretation.

La sitiera (The Small Farm) is a guajira that further shows the various idioms and styles incorporated into Latin African - American music. Roberto Vizcaìno Guillot offers a very musical and tasty conga solo on this piece over some lilting comping by Chucho. Los Caminos (The Pathways) is a guaguancó. A guaguancó, as defined by the handy glossary that accompanies the CD is characterized as "one of three types of rumba; a seductive mid-tempo couple dance." It gives us a chance to hear a vocal-bass solo coming from Alain Pérez Rodriquez sounding like an Afro Cuban version of Keith Jarrett and Slam Stewart mixed with Rice and Beans. The CD concludes with the group jamming and chanting the title.

There's no question of Chucho's virtuosity and wonderful contribution to the world of jazz. Coming from a country dictated by Fidel Castro for most of his lifetime one wonders how the creativity and explorations of this extremely talented musician had ever reached fruition. But it has. So why not go out and enjoy it, it's out there. Back to : Home Page

Valdez's mix of style and ultra-creative playing makes this the best modern Latin Jazz CD I've heard on the market. He takes piano-playing to the level of genius. I'm glad that Amazon had recommended this one. Now I'd like to spread the word.