Chucho Valdes – Jazz Bata 2 (2018) [FLAC 24bit/48kHz]

‘Jazz Batá 2′, Cuban composer, pianist and bandleader Chucho Valdés’ first album for Mack Avenue Records, marks a new peak of creativity for the artist, even as it revisits the small-group concept of his 1972 album ‘Jazz Batá’.

That album upon release was originally considered experimental at the time, but the trio project – featuring no drum set and two virtuosi who would subsequently be charter members of Irakere: Carlos del Puerto (bass) and Oscar Valdés (batâ: the sacred, hourglass shaped drums of the Yoruba religion in Cuba) – would now be considered contemporary.

Recorded in two and a half days at John Lee’s studio in New Jersey, ‘Jazz Batá 2′ is both rhythmic and lyrical at once. The six-hand complexity of the batá repertoire – the deep classical music of West Africa – permeates Valdés’ piano solos throughout the album. “I applied to my solos the different rhythms of the batá,” he says. “The piano is of course a harmonic instrument, but it’s percussive too, and you can play percussion with it.”

It’s an exceptionally tight band. All of the three supporting musicians – Yaroldy Abreu Robles, Dreiser Durruthy Bombalé, and Yelsy Heredia – are from the Guantánamo region and have deep roots in Cuban musical culture as well as being conservatory-trained. Yaroldy, who plays a wide variety of drums – congas, batá, bongó, orchestral percussion – has been working with Valdés for twenty years. “He always knows what I’m going to want to do,” says Valdés.

Tracklist:
1. Obatalá
2. Son Xxi
3. Luces
4. Ochún
5. Chucho’s Mood
6. 100 Años De Bebo
7. El Guije
8. The Clown

Personnel:
Chucho Valdés: piano
Yelsy Heredia: bass
Dreiser Darruthy Bombale: batas
Yaroldy Abreu Robles: percussion
Regina Carter: violin

Download:

mqs.link_ChuchValdesJazzBat220182448.rar