Blues ‘88
Arturo Sandoval & Chucho Valdes
Two Cuban jazz masters jam a blues
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Trumpeter Arturo Sandoval first started playing with pianist Chucho Valdes in the late 1960s in Orquesta Cubana de Music a Moderna which became the group Irakere in 1973.
Sandoval went out on his own in 1981 but still performed with Valdes on an occasional basis until the trumpeter defected to the United States in 1989; Valdes has since also played often in the United States, particularly during the past decade.
On this performance from 1988 (the year before Sandoval left Cuba), the two giants are joined by bassist Jorge Reyes and drummer Martin Drew.
Each of the musicians gets a solo with Valdes constructing a swinging improvisation but Sandoval steals the show, really tearing into the piece and displaying virtuosity and creative ideas.
-Scott Yanow
Ella Fitzgerald