Even at 81, Chucho Valdés Stands Tall in More Ways Than One
His work fulfills the mandate of Jazz at Lincoln Center: It’s an extended composition for the concert stage yet it has the house on its feet cheering in a way that formal symphonic music doesn’t always do.

Chucho Valdés commands the stage just by walking out onto it. He’s a giant of a musician, in more ways than one, being part of the small cadre of larger-than-life piano colossi — along with the late Randy Weston and Paul Smith — whose physical stature seems like a direct manifestation of their talent. Like Duke Ellington, he’s always the tallest guy in his band, and that’s no small thing.
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