Fantasia Cubana: Variations on Classical Themes

Chucho Valdes

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 27, 2002)
• Original Release Date: August 27, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B00006F1NJ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,568 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Chucho Valdés--son of the great pianist Bebo Valdés, leader of the Cuban supergroup Irakere, and a Grammy Award-winning artist--is one of the most acclaimed musicians from Cuba. This CD highlights the third dimension of his talents and shows off his classical chops. Trained by Zenaida Romeu, Cuba's answer to Nadia Boulanger, Valdés's Liszt-like technique, sprinkled with dashes of Art Tatum and McCoy Tyner, explodes on the CD's 14 tracks, which includes works by Ravel and Debussy. On "Chopin: Three Faces of Lecuona" and "La Comparsa," which also pays tribute to the great Havana composer Ernesto Lecuona, Valdés's technique is matched by his lyrical ideas. Of his own compositions, the Afro-pulsed "Wakamba" best shows how Valdés's jazzy, percussive touch transforms the classical idiom into something like a New World of keyboard complexity. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Amazon.com
Chucho Valdés is an acknowledged master of assorted Afro-Cuban musical idioms. The Cuban-born pianist has been recording for nearly 40 years in a wide variety of settings, as both sideman and leader. Valdés is a large man (he stands 6 feet 4 inches), and his keyboard skills can include correspondingly broad chordings, played with powerful finesse. He calls Fantasia Cubana the realization of a lifelong dream. Piano lessons as a boy brought him an enduring love of classical music. Now, with a lifetime of musical explorations under his belt, he returns to that first love with confidence, exuberance, and delightful invention. This is a suite of solo piano pieces, in which his strong rhythmic grounding reveals some rather hidden characteristics in the resilient works of three masters (Chopin, Debussy, and Ravel). Valdés also celebrates his admiration for Ernesto Lecuona, the concert pianist and composer who founded the Havana Symphony, with three contrasting versions of "La Comparsa." --David Greenberger

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for Music Majors, January 10, 2003

By	John Barker (LaFayette NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For all those who have bought "crossover" albums only to be disapointed by lack of technique to pull off the classical side, or a lack of understanding of the original structure on the jazz side, or just a lack of imagination/creativity in general, finally there's an album that does it, and makes you smile in the process. Anybody that has spent hours in the practice room on "mindless finger patterns" wondering how that will ever advance their career, will recognize quite a few references in the course of this CD and smile with the recognition of "well, there's a way"! This is the "fullest" album I've heard in over 50 years of being in music - don't miss it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Latin Jazz/Classical Gem, November 25, 2004

By	J. Mcdaniels (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love both Latin Jazz and Classical music. I hate 99% of all Classical crossover CD's. I find them cheesy and unconvicing. This album works! Cucho Valdes is a master of theme and variations! He takes the Classical compositions on this CD and re-invents them in a masterful and surprising way.He reworks the Classical pieces in the same way a Jazz artist reworks a standard.He is not reverential, he invigorates these pieces. This is my favorite piano jazz CD.

5.0 out of 5 stars SUBLIME!, October 7, 2007

By	Robert Lewis "Nojoe King" (Oz) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A WONDERFUL RECITAL!! If you listen to a little classical music, like the 'modern' French Romantics - Debussy and Ravel, then you'll appreciate Chucho's interpretations, which evoke great passion, romance and, of course, humour!! His interpretations are evocative and lyrical, and moreso still classical, rather than jazz. Musically, technically, and acoustically this is a great listen!! SUBLIME!!