Cancelled: Chucho Valdés

Due to the corona virus, Chucho Valdés has chosen to cancel the concert on April 5. The same goes for the supporting act Samuel Yirga. They deeply regret that they had to make this decision.

Further infomation about refunds and how the operation of Konserthuset is affected

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The Cuban jazz icon concludes this year’s Selam Festival Stockholm

Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés has won five Grammy awards and three Latin Grammy awards. In the past 50 years he has been the leading inspiration in Afro-Cuban jazz. Now we will get to hear him at one of this year’s most highly anticipated concerts. Bringing to the table his newly released album Jazz Bata 2, he will conclude the Selam Festival Stockholm.

When Chucho Valdes recorded his album Jazz Batá in 1972, he used the batá, a sacred Cuban hourglass-shaped drum, instead of a drum kit. The deep dive into Cuba’s musical history was considered a deviation from his earlier recordings. With the combination of jazz and traditional rhythms from the sacred batá, Chucho Valdés showed his virtuosity and laid the stylistic foundation for what would become his historic group, Irakere, an ensemble that delineated the eras before and after Afro-Cuban jazz. Chucho was the founder of Irakere, as well as the pianist, primary composer and arranger for over 30 years.

In late 2018, he released the acclaimed Jazz Batá 2, in which Chucho returned once again to his Afro-Cuban musical heritage.

Support: Samuel Yirga

Ethiopian jazz has become a global phenomenon with primary figures like Mulatu Astatke. The younger and more contemporary jazz scene of Ethiopia is also strongly on the rise, and pianist and composer Samuel Yirga is at the forefront. His music is a fusion of Ethio-jazz, soul, funk and classical music, in which the Ethiopian azmari tradition is a constant presence in the sound. His debut album Guzo was released in 2012 on Peter Gabriel’s label Real World Records.

This exclusive solo concert is Samuel Yirga’s first in Sweden.

The concerts are part of Selam Festival Stockholm 2020.

External promoter: Selam