CHUCHO VALDÉS & PAQUITO D’RIVERA REUNION SEXTET

The history of the close friendship and shared musical adventures between pianist and composer Chucho Valdés and saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Paquito D’Rivera goes back 60 years. But in recent decades, their paths rarely crossed.

Chucho and Paquito are now making up for lost time with a new album,I Missed You Too, and a world tour.In their reunion, they are accompanied by an extraordinary ensemble. It includes Diego Urcola on trumpet and valve trombone, Armando Gola on contrabass and electric bass, Dafnis Prieto on drums, and Roberto Jr. Vizcaino on percussion. The selected repertoire includes old hits, some of them already Latin Jazz standards, classics of the Latin American repertoire, and new compositions.

“I’m very proud of this reunion,” said Paquito, in a conversation after a rehearsal at Chucho’s home. “Chucho is part of my life. His father was very close friends with my father. Our friendship is something that goes back a long way. The first song Chucho wrote that became famous was called ‘Indestructible.’ That’s our relationship: indestructible”.

For his part, Chucho celebrated the reunion as “one of the happiest days of my life.”

“I’ve missed him,” Chucho continued. “Paquito is part of my life. I played with his father, Tito, a great saxophonist, before I played with him. Paquito is family, and he’s very important to me musically. There are many great musicians, but Paquito is unique.”

The awards, the honors, the shelves full of recognitions only tell part of the story of these great musicians.

Chucho Valdés and Paquito D’Rivera have accumulated more than 25 Grammys and Latin Grammys. But numbers do not give the proper measure of their musical contributions, together or individually.

They began their musical partnership as members of the Musical Theater Orchestra in Havana, and the fabled all-star Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna (Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music). From then on, they were musically inseparable (Paquito made his first professional recording on Chucho’s first album: Jesús Valdés y su Combo).

In 1973, Chucho founded the small big band Irakere, which played a powerful fusion of jazz, classical, rock, and Afro-Cuban music. It was a transcendental development in Latin Jazz. Paquito, an original member of the group, was a key figure.

“Paquito was the heart of Irakere,” said Chucho.

In 1980, Paquito went into exile in Madrid. Soon after, he moved to New York and began a new life there. Chucho remained with Irakere, but in 1998, seeking more opportunities for his talents as a pianist, he embarked on a parallel career, leading small groups and appearing solo. In 2005, Chucho finally left Irakere. For years, he lived between Havana and Malaga, where his late father, the great pianist and bandleader Bebo Valdés, had settled. In 2010, Chucho and his family moved to South Florida.

Much has happened in their musical lives since the days of Irakere. 

Chucho reinvented himself, leading trios and quartets and becoming a solo pianist. Last October 9, he celebrated his 80th birthday by working on La Creación, a three-movement suite for small ensemble, voices, and big band. The work had its world premiere on November 5 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami and was later performed in Lyon, Paris, and Barcelona.

For his part, Paquito developed a successful career as a bandleader and composer. In 2005, his work earned him recognition as a Jazz Master from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts. But Paquito also maintained his passion for classical music, receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship and commissions for string quartets, chamber groups, and symphony orchestras. Five of his orchestral works will be premiered this year.

These days, Chucho and Paquito have turned their attention to their reunion, an event that carries a deep meaning for them, both musically and personally.

“You don’t have to be [physically] close to a person to feel close,” Paquito said, reflecting on the years in which the old friends did not see each other. “Heck, there are people who are married and don’t have such a close relationship. We were born to be close, even at a distance.”

Sitting next to him, Chucho listened with a faint smile and nodded silently.

“I’ve always had the hope of being close to Paquito again and playing with him again,” he said. “I’ve always had that hope. Well, this is our moment.”