As the son of legendary Cuban bandleader and pianist Bebo Valdés, composer and piano titan Chucho Valdés comes by his gifts naturally, but that doesn't mean he didn't work for his lofty status. The Cuban jazz giant began recording under his own name in the mid-‘60s before forming the star-studded big band Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna in 1967 and the trailblazing Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble Irakere in 1973. Between those excursions and his continuing solo adventures, Valdés has become one of his homeland's most celebrated—and dizzyingly talented—musical ambassadors.