ROOTS AND RIBS FESTIVAL OF MUSIC AND FOOD. THE SOUL OF CUBAN PIANO.

3 Outstanding Pianists come to the OSPAC stage today.

Manuel Valera stands in a long line of virtuoso Cuban-born musicians based in New York. As a pianist, he's established himself as a versatile first-call musician; as a bandleader, he's often found new connections between pan-Latin rhythms and modern jazz styles. His New Cuban Express band, a sextet heavy on rhythm and percussion, is his first to specifically address Cuban music. The group's new album comes out on Valera's own label later this year.

In a bill which paired two different visions of Latin jazz in the 21st century, Valera opened for Alexis Cuadrado's A Lorca Soundscapeproject at 92Y Tribeca in downtown New York City Wednesday night. The shows were broadcast on air via WBGO and in an online video webcast at NPR Music. For more information about this series and a full concert archive, visit npr.org/checkoutlive.

Aruán Ortiz is a critically acclaimed Cuban pianist, award-winning composer, and a solid producer and educator, not only on the New York City scene, but internationally as well. 

Named “the latest Cuban wunderkind to arrive in the United States” by BET Jazz, this classically trained violist and pianist from Santiago de Cuba, considers himself “a curious person who loves music”, and portrays his music as an architectural structure of sounds, incorporating contemporary classical music, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and improvisation as primary material for his compositions. He has received a number of awards such as Latin Jazz Corner’s Arranger of the Year (2011) for his contribution on the album, “El Cumbanchero” (Jazzheads 2011) by flutist Mark Weinstein; Best Jazz Interpretation, Festival de Jazz in Vic, Spain (2000); and Semifinalist, Jas Hennessy Piano Solo Competition, Montreux, Switzerland (2001).

'BANNED IN LONDON' was recently selected by Downbeat Magazine as one of the best albums of the year (2013) with 4.5 stars and one of the Best Albums of 2012 (Critics' List) by London Jazz and The Jazz Breakfast!

Chuchito Valdes

For the Valdés family, music is a dominant gene.

Grammy- and Latin-Grammy-nominated Latin jazz pianist Chuchito Valdés, has followed in the footsteps of his famed father, Chucho Valdés and grandfather Bebo Valdés — all acclaimed piano players from Havana, Cuba.

Chuchito's next album was recorded with a 14-piece Latin jazz band, in front of a live studio audience at WNYC in New York City. It is a tribute to his grandfather Bebo, who passed away this past March, at age 94.

“I had a lot of respect for my grandfather,” says Chuchito. “He was the motor of my family. He was way ahead of his time. Bebo did a lot of arrangements for world-famous musicians.”

In this album, the third-generation musician explains his mission is to celebrate Bebo’s legacy and impact around the world by going back to the beginning and performing his grandfather’s arrangements from the Tropicana Nightclub in Havana, where Bebo played the 1950s.  Chuchito, however, is throwing in a splash of his own more contemporary notes.

“When there’s a mix, everything is delicious,” says Chuchito, who can’t help but sing from emotion while he leads his orchestra. “This is something he would have been very proud of and humbled by, since despite his greatness, he was a very modest man.”