Mar 21, 2019

RhoDeo 1911 Roots

Hello,


Today's artist was a top-notch pianist/composer/arranger, he was the musical director of nightclub shows at the Tropicana in Havana by 1948.
Very active in the 1950s, he was considered one of the giants of Cuban music, arranging many recordings, composing mambos, and organizing Afro-Cuban jazz jam sessions. He defected from Cuba in 1960 and by 1963 had settled in Stockholm. In 1994, after 34 years off records, he cut Bebo Rides Again for the Messidor label, not only playing piano but composing eight numbers and arranging 11 songs in the 36 hours before the first session; he was 76 at the time......N'Joy

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Bebo Valdés was born Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro on October 9, 1918, in the village of Quivicán, Cuba, near Havana. He started his career as a pianist in the nightclubs of Havana during the 1940s. He replaced René Hernández as pianist and arranger in Julio Cueva's band. In October 1946 the band recorded "Rareza del Siglo", one of Bebo's most famous mambos. From 1948 to 1957 he worked as pianist and arranger for the vedette Rita Montaner, who was the lead act in the Tropicana cabaret. His orchestra, Sabor de Cuba, and that of Armando Valdés, alternated at the Tropicana, backing singers such as Benny Moré and Pío Leyva. Valdés played a role in the adaptation of the mambo into the big band format (it was previously performed by charangas) during the late 1940s and 1950s, and developed a new rhythm to compete with Perez Prado's mambo, called the batanga. Valdés was also an important figure in the incipient Afro-Cuban jazz scene in Havana, taking part in sessions commissioned by American producer Norman Granz during 1952. These sessions yielded the famous improvised piece "Con Poco Coco" among others, which served as a precedent to Panart's descarga sessions (with one exception). In the late 1950s he recorded with Nat "King" Cole. In 1960, accompanied by Sabor de Cuba's lead vocalist Rolando Laserie, Bebo defected from Cuba to Mexico. He then lived briefly in the United States before touring Europe, and eventually settled in Stockholm, where he lived until 2007. In Sweden he was instrumental in spreading the techniques of Cuban music and Latin jazz.

Valdés' career got a late career boost in 1994 when he teamed up with saxophone player Paquito D'Rivera to release a CD called Bebo Rides Again. In 2000, the film Calle 54 by Fernando Trueba brought his piano playing to a wide audience. In 2003, he and Diego El Cigala, a famous Spanish cantaor (flamenco singer), recorded the album Lágrimas Negras (Black Tears), a fusion of Cuban rhythms and flamenco vocals. During his career, Valdés—one of the founders of Latin jazz, and a pioneer in bringing Afro-Cuban sacred rhythms to popular dance music—won seven Grammy Awards: two for El Arte del Sabor (2002), one for Lágrimas Negras, and two for Bebo de Cuba in 2006 (in the categories "Best Traditional Tropical Album" and "Best Latin Jazz Album").

His last musical production was one fittingly recorded with his son: Bebo y Chucho Valdés: Juntos para Siempre (Together Forever 2008),[10] winner of the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards in 2010; they also won the Latin Grammy Award on the same field. In 2004, he was again filmed by Trueba, in El milagro de Candeal in Brazil, and later composed a score for Trueba's 2010 film Chico and Rita, which included bits from his own life. Chico and Rita ends with the dedication "a Bebo". In May 2011, Bebo Valdés was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.

Valdés was married to Pilar Valdés. This marriage produced five children, one of whom is the pianist Chucho Valdés. In 1963 he stopped in Sweden on a tour with the Lecuona Cuban Boys. There he met the 18-year-old Rose Marie Pehrson (August 28, 1928), a cavalry officer's daughter. They got married the same year and he settled in Sweden. He described it as the most important moment of his life: "It was like being hit by lightning," he said. "If you meet a woman and you want to change your life you have to choose between love and art." They remained together until her death in 2012. Valdés was in the middle of the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, which he had suffered for several years, when he died in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 22, 2013, aged 94.


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This 1959 compilation of the maestro, Bebo Valdes, was recorded in Havana by Everest Records. The sound quality is exceptional since the stereo masters were used. With the onslaught of Cuban music, many CDs were released with less than dynamic sound reproduction. It is satisfying to hear the vibrant bottom and midrange in these classic recordings. These choice tracks were recorded just before the great pianist fled Cuba in hopes that the regime and his exile would be short-lived. Music trumps politics, so these great arrangements of the legendary pianist provide a peek back to a glorious golden era. The orchestra is in top form and so is the maestro. This is an integral part of the mother lode of the Cuban big-band sound. There's plenty of drive and percussion in the cha chas and mambos to move the dustiest of shoes and hips. With all due respect to the revival spurred by Ry Cooder, gems like this album are some of the original fountains that flowed during the heyday of Cuban big bands. This album stands on its own and is timeless in its appeal. Highly recommended.



 Bebo Valdez y His Orchestra - Cuban Dance Party    (flac  297mb)

01 Babalu 2:54
02 Cha Cha No.1 2:39
03 El Cumbanchero 2:41
04 Habana 2:47
05 A Quien Enganes 3:30
06 Ita Morreal 2:37
07 El Manisero 2:39
08 Feria De Los Siglos 3:29
09 Aquellos Ojos Verdes 3:05
10 Sacuma  2:21
11 Tu Sabes Bien Que Te Queiro 2:37
Bonus Tracks Featuring Los Cardobeses
12 Besame Mucho 3:30
13 Los Tintosos 3:02
14 Poinciana 4:24
15 El Bodeguero 3:03

Bebo Valdez y His Orchestra - Cuban Dance Party  (ogg  117mb)

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This album is both historic and quite exciting. Bebo Valdes (father of Chucho, the leader of Irakere) was one of the giants of Cuban jazz and popular music until he fled the country in 1960. Amazingly enough, he had not recorded since, despite living peacefully in Sweden. This recording is also significant in that it is one of the first times that Cuban exiles had recorded with Cubans still living under Castro (guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales and percussionist Amadito Valdes). Paquito D'Rivera (who organized this set) deserves a lot of credit for its success, but Valdes is the real star. He composed eight new selections in the 36 hours before the recordings began, although he was 76 years old at the time. Although Valdes claimed that, with the lack of sleep and excess of writing (he also arranged ten of the 11 songs), his fingers felt a bit stiff, he plays quite well throughout the very enjoyable music. The final results are full of strong melodies, stirring rhythms, exciting ensembles, and lots of variety. The instrumentation differs on each track, with plenty of solo space for D'Rivera (on both alto and clarinet), trombonist Juan-Pablo Torres (who takes "Veinte Anos" as a duet with Valdes), trumpeter Diego Urcola, and the pianist. The percussionists work together quite well behind the lead voices, and every selection is well worth hearing. This is one of the finest Afro-Cuban jazz recordings of recent times. Highly recommended.



Bebo Valdes - Bebo Rides Again    (flac  297mb)

01 Al Dizzy Gillespie 4:57
02 Anda 4:51
03 Pa' Goza 4:23
04 Felicia 5:20
05 La Comparsa 4:53
06 A La Marcheré 3:41
07 Pan Com Timba 6:57
08 Veinte Años 3:36
09 Pierre Jamballah 5:31
10 To Mario Bauza 6:03
11 Oleaje 2:01

Bebo Valdes - Bebo Rides Again  (ogg    128mb)

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Bebo Valdés, Eladio Reinón, David Pastor, Matthew Simon, John DuBuclet, Mikel Andueza, Victor de Diego, José Luis Gámez, Rickard Valdés
deliver a stunning album that is so tight, elegant, and fun. The kind of record you put when you want the music to make you feel good, for a long time. Bebo is the cruise control, his piano figures of the band's solution mostly Spanish in a groove, letting the soloists take their time.  And their improvisations are the thing to wait for.



Eladio Reinon Latin Big Band & Bebo Valdes - Afrocuban Jazz Suite No.1    (flac  421mb)

01 Cachao 10:22
02 Ecuación 13:09
03 Devoción 6:23
04 Nocturno en Batanga 10:31
05 Copla nº4 4:47
06 El Son de Cecilio 11:05
07 Final: "¿Ar Ni Fröken Pehrson?" 0:28

08 The Big "B" 9:18
09 José's Guaracha 7:17

Eladio Reinon Latin Big Band & Bebo Valdes - Afrocuban Jazz Suite No.1    (ogg  177mb)

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A major name in Cuba in the 1950s, pianist Bebo Valdes defected from Cuba in 1960 and in 1963 settled in Stockholm. He was rediscovered and finally recorded again in 1994 (though he had played locally all along). This date reunites him at the age of 82 with bassist Cachao (also 82) in a group also including the 74-year old conga player Patato Valdes and (on three numbers) Paquito D'Rivera on alto and clarinet. The music is full of charming melodies, subtle interplay, and wonderful playing. In fact, the performances (which are full of rich themes) rewards repeated and close listenings. A gem.



 Bebo Valdes - El Arte del Sabor    (flac  274mb)

01 Lamento Cubano 3:29
02 Son De La Loma 3:24
03 El Maranon 3:13
04 Bolero Potpurrí 3:09
05 Priquitín Pin Pon 4:25
06 Negro De Sociedad 2:15
07 Buche Y Pluma "Na Má" 3:59
08 El Reloj De Pastora 3:50
09 Conga Potpourrí (3:39)
10 Agguere 6:44
11 Pare Cochero 2:14
12 Cumbachero 4:30
13 Si Llegó A Besarte 3:39
14 Guaracha Popurri 3:32
15 Romance En La Habana 4:29
16 Route 66 5:02
17 Adios Panamá / Para Vigo Me Voy 1:47

Bebo Valdes - El Arte del Sabor  (ogg   mb)

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