Maestro Chucho Valdés is not given to hype. So, when in the days leading to the premiere of his three-movement suite La Creación last night at the Arsht Center, in Miami, said that this was “the most important work of my entire career. So far,” your ears have to perk up. The piece was a commission by the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.

The performance last night featured Valdés with his working group — Dafnis Prieto, drums; José Gola, acoustic and electric bass, and Roberto Vizcaíno Jr., percussion — expanded by the additions of Hilario Durán and John Beasley on keyboards and conducting (they also contributed arranging and orchestration), trumpeter Etienne Charles and members of the University of Miami Frost School of Music Henry Mancini Institute Big Band. It also included key contributions by a trio comprising Erick Barbería, Yosvany González Franco and Felipe “Coki” Sarria, on batá and vocals, and Yeni Valdés on vocals.

Time will tell about the place of this work in what is already a rich catalog. This was an ambitious idea fraught with risks: tell a complex story (see program notes below) in music through a blend of jazz and secular and religious Afro-Cuban musical traditions, and modern and ancient instruments. Valdés, with notable assists by Durán and Beasley, made it flow logically and purposefully, balancing raw power and grace.

For Valdés, who just celebrated his 80th birthday, La Creación suggests a summation of six decades of work.

It will be fascinating to hear how La Creación evolves after repeated performances.

His “So far” sounded last night like a fair warning.

Left to right, John Beasley, Hilario Durán and Chucho Valdés at Thursday´s rehearsal with the score of La Creación. Photo Fernando González

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Astor Piazzolla photo by Charles Reilly

As part of the centennial celebration of the birth of composer, player, and bandleader Astor Piazzolla, the Quinteto Astor Piazzolla, the repertory ensemble of the Astor Piazzolla Foundation, will celebrate the maestro’s New Tango in performance at the Arsht Center, November 11.

Rough-edged but cosmopolitan; by turns poetic, cerebral, and flashing the attitude of a brawler; Piazzolla’s New Tango reflects not only an exceptional talent but his unusual personal story and his place in music.

From birth, Piazzolla was an outsider in the tango world.

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When I heard the news that Charlie Watts had died, my mind flashed back to the night we went to hear tango in Buenos Aires.

I remember watching him listening. He was taking in the whole scene – the place, the orchestra, the young singer, looking like a 40s crooner, dapper, his hair slicked back, and of course, the dancers. It was 2006, and La Ideal, a grand, beautiful, run-down belle epoque café, was still open then, and it was a favorite of local tangueros.

Now and then, he would ask a question, very specific, about the music or the rituals of tango dancing and fade back in his chair. There was no chit-chat. He wanted to know.

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