Chucho Valdés & Etienne Charles in Chicago

Chucho Valdés is a Cuban pianist, composer and bandleader, born in Quivicán in 1941. The son of pianist Bebo Valdés, he founded and directed Irakere, the group that brought Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz improvisation and electric instrumentation together in works including “Misa Negra.” His own repertoire includes “Mambo Influenciado” and the album Jazz Batá 2. Irakere made its US debut during the 1978 Newport Jazz Festival in New York, including a performance at Carnegie Hall. Decades later, a week of Chucho Valdés trio concerts at the Village Vanguard produced the album Live at the Village Vanguard. His festival appearances have included the Montreux Jazz Festival, while the North Sea Jazz Festival has also presented his piano-led ensemble.

Etienne Charles is a Trinidadian jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, born in Port of Spain in 1983. He plays jazz rooted in calypso, soca and other Caribbean traditions, and is known for recordings including Kaiso, Creole Soul, Carnival: The Sound of a People and San Juan Hill: A New York Story. Etienne Charles has led his ensemble Creole Soul at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival. In 2022, Lincoln Center commissioned San Juan Hill: A New York Story, a multimedia concert work that he premiered at David Geffen Hall during the venue’s reopening.