Valdes is often touted as being one of the world's greatest pianists, period. For once, the hype does justice to reality. This guy makes the ivories come alive in ways you never thought possible. For almost three decades, Valdes has been making the keys dance to his towering passion, virtuosity, and intellect. The notes simply pour out of him in a musical torrent.
Listener resistance is futile.
Exotic whiffs of Tatum, Evans, Tyner, and even Cecil Taylor are all in there, but Valdes is no slave to imitation. He simply uses the great jazz piano tradition explored and developed by others for his own artistic launching pad. Chucho then blasts off into his own musical space. His style is truly distinct, and once you have heard Valdes play, you will never mistake him for anyone else at the keyboard. The lower registers just roll over under his flying hands, while the upper registers get a special kind of finger massage.