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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Afro-Cuban
Band to Bring Hot Blend of Latin Jazz, Bebop, Cha-Cha-Cha and More
to Long’s Park August 16, 2009.
LANCASTER, PA -- Prepare to sizzle August 16, 2009 as the Long’s
Park Amphitheater Foundation welcomes The Chuchito Valdés
Afro-Cuban Ensemble. With incredible jazz chops and a band that
flies, Jesus “Chuchito” Valdés and his four-piece
band will captivate audiences at Long’s Park with a mix of
styles including Afro-Cuban Latin jazz, bebop, danzon, cha-cha-cha,
son montuno and more. This exciting performance, cosponsored by
WLCH-FM Radio Centro, will begin at 7:30 pm.
The band’s flamboyant leader, Cuban jazz piano master Jesus
“Chuchito” Valdés, Jr., follows in the footsteps
of his famed father, Chucho Valdés, and grandfather Bébo
Valdés. Born in Havana, he was weaned under their tutelage
on a wide range of musical traditions, including European classical,
Cuban dance music and American jazz.
Chuchito Valdés studied classical and Cuban popular music
at the Ignacio Cervantes School for Professional Musicians. He was
also profoundly shaped by his father’s internationally acclaimed
band Irakere. This lively group of innovators forged a dynamic
new sound by infusing elements of jazz, rock, funk, classical and
percussion. Immersed in their music from the start, Chuchito Valdés
stepped in and led Irakere for two years in the 1990s. He
emerged poised to start his own group.
Today, building on his family legacy and lessons learned from
Irakere, Chuchito Valdés “represents a tradition
that plants the piano firmly in the percussion section and treats
it like an ensemble all by itself” (The Indianapolis Star).
With influences of Caribbean rhythms and jazz, Valdés and
his band create a vigorous and energetic blend of spicy music that
drives audiences wild. Explains the Chicago Tribune, “Valdés
and his band reinvigorated age old Cuban musical forms, the venerable
cha-cha-cha and mambo standards revitalized by the muscular virtuosity
of a ... younger generation of players.” Said Neil Tesser of
Chicago’s art and culture guide, The Reader, “Valdés
displays the hell-bent intensity and daredevil technique of the
elder Valdés -- qualities recognized worldwide as hallmarks
of Cuban jazz.”
The Long’s Park Summer Music Series is produced and underwritten
by the Long’s Park Amphitheater Foundation. Thanks to generous
sponsors, private donors and proceeds of the Labor Day weekend Long’s
Park Art & Craft Festival, admission and parking are free. Sponsors
of the 2009 season are Lancaster General and Susquehanna Bank. Season
media sponsors are WARM 103 and 96.1 WSOX. WGAL- TV is season weather
sponsor.
Stevens & Lee, PC is sponsoring the 2009 Long’s Park Art
& Craft Festival.
Long’s Park concertgoers are invited to bring picnics, blankets
and lawn chairs to the park. A selection of food purveyors will
also be in the park, offering a complete meal’s worth of family
foods and desserts. Long’s Park is an alcohol-free park.
Long’s Park is conveniently located at 1441 Harrisburg Pike
in Lancaster, just off Route 30 across from Park City Center. All
performances are held rain or shine, except in the case of dangerously
inclement weather.
Additional information and links to musical previews of Long’s
Park’s performers can be found at www.longspark.org,
or on Facebook. For details on corporate sponsorships of the Long's
Park Summer Music Series and to learn how to make individual and
corporate contributions, contact the Long's Park Amphitheater Foundation
at www.longspark.org.
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