Winner of six Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards, Cuban pianist, composer and arranger Chucho Valdes has pushed the boundaries in the search for new expressions in Afro-Cuban music throughout his rich 60-year career. His musical education includes formal studies and countless nights on Cuba’s best stages as a pianist with his father, Bebo Valdés, and his orchestra, Sabor de Cuba. Valdés is perhaps best known as the founder, pianist, and principal composer and arranger of Irakere, a flagship ensemble in Cuban music.

Celebrate 80s^e anniversary in 2021, the technique and creative production of Valdés are still as prodigious. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame, and received a DC Jazz Festival Lifetime Achievement Award.

Diane reeves has virtuosity, improvisational prowess, and unique jazz and R&B styles that have earned her five Grammy Awards for Best Vocal Jazz Album, an Honorary Doctor of Music Degree from Juilliard and the honor of being nominated in 2018 National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master. Her magical and timeless voice and exceptional personality make her a captivating, world-class artist. According to Wynton Marsalis, “She has one of the most powerful, determined and precise voices of this moment or any time.” Reeves’ Grammy-winning album, “Beautiful Life,” embodies the spirit of his historic and extraordinary career, spanning many genres and collaborating with a diverse collection of artists.

Joe lovano is a Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer and arranger. DownBeat The magazine twice named him Jazz Artist of the Year, and he won a prestigious trifecta in 1998: nominations for Musician of the Year, Improviser of the Year and Best Tenor Saxophonist at the New York Jazz Awards. . Lovano attended Berklee in the early 1970s and received an honorary doctorate in music from the college in 1998. In the fall of 2001, he began a prestigious teaching residency at the Berklee Ensemble Department, known as the Gary Burton Chair. in Jazz Performance. Lovano has released nearly 40 albums as a leader or co-leader and has collaborated with many legendary musicians including McCoy Tyner, Hank Jones, Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, Branford Marsalis, Jim Hall and Paul Motian.

“Duets” is presented in partnership with the Black Cultural Center, Ujima, and the Center for the Study of Cuban Culture and Economy; and supported in part by donations from Don and Libby Drapeau, Dr James M. Shuler and Ms Margaret F. Shuler, and Mr Edwin H. Talley and Ms Melinda P. Talley.

A conversation with Chucho Valdés, piano

Join Valdés as he discusses his approach to the piano and answers questions from the audience in person on Wednesday, September 29 at 12:20 p.m. at the Anne and Ellen Fife Theater at the Moss Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. A live version of the event will be available on the Moss Arts Center website.

Ticket information

Tickets for performances are $ 25-55 for the general public and $ 10 for Virginia Tech students. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center box office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during ticket office hours.

Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street for $ 5. Payment must be made in cash at the time of entry. Virginia Tech faculty and staff with a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Virginia Tech has also partnered with ParkMobile to provide a convenient, contactless electronic payment option for parking, which can be used at any meter, campus parking spot, or parking lot with standard F / S parking, C / G or R.

If you are a person with a disability and would like accommodation, please contact Jonathan Boulter at 540-231-5300 or email [email protected] during regular business hours.