Patato+Valdes | id

Winner of eight Grammy Awards: five Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy and creditor of many doctorates, Dionisio Jesus "Chucho" Valdés Rodríguez is natural from Quivican, Havana Province, Cuba. The son of the noted musician Bebo Valdes, Chucho began playing piano when he was three and by the time he was 16 he was leading his own group. In 1960 his father defected from Cuba but Chucho stayed behind. In 1967, he formed the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna and, in 1973, he founded Irakere, the top Cuban jazz orchestra; among its original members were Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D'Rivera....

For more than 60 years Carlos "Patato" Valdez has demonstrated how a musician can combine technical skill with superb showmanship. His conga playing shows the fusing of melody and rhythm, and his understanding of rhythm is rooted in dancing. Now in his 70's Valdez still dazzles audiences with his rumba moves, he's also the man who gave Brigitte Bardot a mambo lesson in And God Created Woman. Valdez demonstrates his understanding of melody through bass and tres,the Cuban folk guitar. Valdez's understanding of melodic percussion was ahead of his time and made advances in drum technology necessary. During the late...

Spanish virtuoso guitarist performing almost entirely neo-classical metal instrumental songs. .