The Chucho Valdés: Irakere 40 tour, described as “a celebration of Irakere, the Cuban band that, with its bold fusion of Afro-Cuban ritual and popular musics, jazz and rock, marked a before and after in Latin jazz,” will begin Oct. 20 in Los Angeles and run through mid-November, with stops in New York, San Francisco and other cities.

In conjunction with the U.S. tour, Valdés, Irakere’s founder, main composer and arranger, will release Tribute to Irakere [Live at Marciac] (Jazz Village), on Oct. 20. The album was recorded live at the festival Jazz in Marciac, France, on Aug. 3.

In addition to Valdés, the band includes Yaroldy Abreu Robles, percussion, vocals; Rafael Águila, alto sax; Rodney Barreto, drums, vocals; Dreiser Durruthy Bombalé, batás, lead vocals; Ariel Bringuez, tenor sax; Gastón Joya, double bass, vocals; and Manuel Machado, Reinaldo Melián and Carlos Sarduy, trumpets.

Tour Dates

Oct 20 - Los Angeles, CA Walt Disney Concert Hall (with special guest Eddie Palmieri)
Oct 22 - Tucson, AZ UA Presents / Fox Tucson Theatre
Oct 23 - Scottsdale, AZ Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
Oct 25 - Rohnert Park, CA Weill Hall at the Green Music Center / Sonoma State University
Oct 27 - Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre for the Performing Arts
Oct 29 - San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ Center
Oct 30 - San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ Center
Oct 31 - San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ Center
Nov 1 - San Francisco, CA SFJAZZ Center
Nov 4 - Columbia, MO Missouri Theatre
Nov 6 - Chicago, IL Symphony Center Orchestra Hall
Nov 7 - Holland, MI Hope College / Dimnent Memorial Chapel
Nov 8 - Ann Arbor, MI UMS / Michigan Theater
Nov 10 - New York, NY The Town Hall
Nov 12 - Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Nov 13 - San Juan, PR Centro de Bellas Artes
Nov 14 - Miami Beach, FL Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
Nov 15 - Bethesda, MD The Music Center at Strathmore
Nov 16 - Durham, NC Duke Performances / Page Auditorium