Founded in 1973 by pianist Chucho Valdés, Irakere is a legendary Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble, which remains on the cutting edge of Latin jazz.
Many of the founders came from the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna. The line up at the time consisted of Chucho Valdés on piano, Oscar Valdés on percussion, Carlos del Puerto on bass, guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales, saxophonists Paquito D’Rivera and Carlos Averhoff; Jorge Varona on the trumpet, drummer Bernardo Garcia and Alfonso Campos on congas.
The following year, Arturo Sandoval joined the band and Enrique Pla became the drummer. Throughout the years other Cuban music luminaries joined the band, including José Luis Cortés, Germán Velazco, César López, Orlando Maraca Valle and Miguel ‘Angá’ Diaz.
Discography:
Teatro Amadeo Roldán – Recital (Areíto, 1974)
Grupo Irakere (Areíto, 1976)
Musica cubana contemporanea (Areíto, 1978)
Leo Brouwer / Irakere (Areíto, 1978)
Grupo Irakere (Areíto, 1979)
Irakere (Areíto, 1979)
Chekere-son (Areíto, 1979)
The Best of Irakere (Columbia/Legacy, 1979)
Irakere II (Areito, 1980)
El Coco (1980)
Live in Sweden (1981)
Para bailar son (1981)
Volume VI (Areíto, 1982)
Calzada Del Cerro (Areíto, 1983)
Orquesta sinfónica nacional; La colección v. VIII (Areíto, 1983)
Bailando así La colección Volume IX (Areíto, 1985)
Tierra En Trance; La colección v. X (Areíto, 1985)
Quince minutos; La colección v. XI (Areíto, 1985)
Catalina (1986)
Live at Ronnie Scott’s – The Legendary Irakere in London (1987)
Misa Negra (Messidor, 1987)
Homenaje a Beny Moré (1989)
Great Moments (1991)
Felicidad (1991)
Bailando Así (1995)
!Afrocubanismo Live! Chucho Valdés and Irakere (Bembe, 1996)
Babalú Ayé (Bembe, 1997)
From Havana With Love (West Wind, 1998)
Indestructible (1999)
Yemayá (Blue Note, 1999)
Pare Cochero (2001)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
Michael Greene, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, cited Valdes ability to attract virtuoso musicians as his greatest strength. But even without Irakere, Greene is looking forward to his Northridge performance. It will be the first time he’s seen Valdes since 1990–when he and Lundvall hand-delivered two boxes of Grammy statuettes to Havana more than a decade after Irakere won them.