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The most influential figure in modern Afro-Cuban jazz for more than half a century, virtuoso pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdés celebrates 60 years of musical alchemy with the SFJAZZ premiere his Royal Quartet project.

The son of Cuban pianist Bebo Valdés, the winner of seven GRAMMYs and six Latin GRAMMY Awards joined Armando Romeu’s celebrated Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music in 1967, a time when the communist government still considered American jazz anti-revolutionary. He was already recognized as the most formidable pianist of his generation when he launched Irakere in 1973 with a phenomenal cast that included saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.

Over the ensuing years, Valdés has concentrated on his career as a solo artist, recording 25 albums and co-writing the landmark 2018 book Decoding Afro-Cuban Jazz in collaboration with SFJAZZ Director of Education Rebeca Mauleón.

Valdés’s Royal Quartet brings together a masterful lineup of Cuban-born instrumentalists including bassist José Armando Gola, known for his lengthy collaboration with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the ambidextrous marvel Horacio “El Negro” Hernández on drums, and percussionist Roberto Jr. Vizcaino, son of longtime Valdés associate Roberto Vizcaino.

The band’s GRAMMY-nominated debut, Cuba & Beyond, is packed with a collection of the leader’s fiery compositions as well as inventive takes on the work of Chick Corea and Pedro Junco.