Chucho Valdés & The Afro-Cuban Messengers: Border Free

Cuban piano maestro Chucho Valdés is a supreme example of that very Latin combination of virtues which, in more northerly latitudes, are sometimes regarded as vices: heart-on-the- sleeve romanticism and technical machismo. But turn off the chilly European disdain and Valdés's endlessly inventive playing is a balm to jaded ears. His latest group, with a nod to Art Blakey's legendary nursery for musicians, takes up where his equally legendary Irakere left off: nurturing the talents of seriously gifted percussionists; setting the standard for Afro-Cuban jazz; and above all, providing its greatest exponent with a plat- form for his florid, emotionally powerful soloing. Blakey alumnus Branford Marsalis sits in on sax, making a truth of the album's title and a nonsense of the US embargo on Cuba. valdeschucho.com