AUTHORITATIVE | CURATED | First 500 words Free

• Personalities
• Contemporary Era
• Jazz & Blues

(Piano, b. 1941) Chucho remained in Cuba after his father, pianist Bebo Valdés, defected in the late 1950s. In his mid-20s Chucho established Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, which became the much-recorded, internationally touring jazz showband Irakere; he turned it over to his son in 1998. A large man with huge hands, Valdés is capable ...

• Personalities
• Contemporary Era
• Jazz & Blues

(Trumpet, b. 1969) Encouraged by Wynton Marsalis while in high school in Dallas, Texas, Hargrove has a jauntier approach to trumpet than his mentor. He principally employs hard-bop vocabulary, but has also led the Latin jazz band Crîsol with Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés, recorded with hip hop/soul singer D’Angelo, and co-starred in Herbie Hancock’s New ...

• Personalities
• Contemporary Era
• Jazz & Blues

(Guitar, vocals, b. 1951) In a BBC radio poll, blues rocker Trout was ranked number six among the top 20 guitarists of all time. Not bad for an Ocean City, New Jersey native who worked for decades as a sideman with John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Canned Heat and John Mayall before forming his ...

• Styles & Forms
• Jazz
• Latin Jazz

Latin jazz is commonly defined as the fusion of American jazz melodies, improvisation and chords with Latin American rhythms, predominantly those of Afro-Cuban origin. How this marriage of styles occurred is also one of the most significant cultural musical exchanges in history. Mention the birth of Latin jazz to any aficionado of the art form and they will invariably reply ...