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An incomparable duo of jazz giants, each representing the pinnacle of their art form, came together in June 2022 for this exclusive performance during the 39th San Francisco Jazz Festival.

This meeting of masters was inspired by the monumental first-ever pairing of the greatest living Cuban pianist, Chucho Valdés, and Dianne Reeves, “the most admired jazz diva since the heyday of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday” (NY Times), during the SFJAZZ 2019 Gala honoring Valdés. Their chemistry was so profound that they couldn’t help but reunite for this magic evening of music and friendship.

Personnel:
Dianne Reeves: vocals
Chucho Valdés: piano

Setlist:
"Si Te Contara" composed by Juan Formell
"El Rumbón" composed by Chucho Valdés
"Perla Marina" composed by Sindo Garay
"Son XXI" composed by Enrique Ubieta
"Concierto do Aranjuez" composed by Joaquín Rodrigo
"El Manisero" composed by Moisés Simons
"Prelude in E minor" composed by Chopin
"Stella by Starlight" composed by Victor Young (music), Ned Washington (Lyrics)
"September in the Rain" composed by Harry Warren (music), Al Dubin (Lyrics)
"Drume Negrita" Bola de Nieve
"My Foolish Heart" composed by Victor Young (music), Ned Washington (Lyrics)
"How High the Moon" composed by Morgan Lewis (music), Nancy Hamilton (Lyrics)
"Bésame Mucho" composed by Consuelo Velázquez
"Blue Monk "composed by Thelonius Monk
"Afro Blue" Mongo composed by Santamaría (music), Oscar Brown Jr. (lyrics)
"Softly as a Morning Sunrise" composed by Sigmund Romberg (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (Lyrics)

ABOUT CHUCHO VALDÉS AND DIANNE REEVES
“A pianist of imperial command, possessed of a dazzling, deceptively casual virtuosity” — The New York Times on Chucho Valdés
“Dianne Reeves is one of our generation’s definitive jazz masters, a vocal stylist of extraordinary skill and vivacity.” —The Huffington Post

A singular force in Cuban music for more than half a century, Chucho Valdés was already recognized as the most formidable pianist of his generation when he launched the landmark band Irakere in 1973 with a phenomenal cast that included saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. The band’s unprecedented synthesis of folkloric Afro-Cuban rhythms, sacred drums, rock, funk, and jazz changed the course of Latin music in the 1970s and 80s.
GRAMMY winner and 2018 NEA Jazz Master Dianne Reeves is jazz’s greatest living vocalist — an artist who embodies the music’s enduring values of elegance, class and improvisational poise. With a string of GRAMMYs, including an unprecedented three consecutive Best Jazz Vocal Performance awards, she’s a performer with a gift for imbuing any performance space with the intimacy of a living room.