ALFREDO VALDES AÑO 1981 . INTERPRETA SUS EXITOS CON EL SEPTETO NACIONAL

1. Canto A la Vueltabajera
2. Rin Ri Lea
3. Guanajo Relleno
4. Don Lengua
5. Entre Tinieblas
6. Como Voy A Sufrir

Creditos,
Piano, Alfredo Valdes Jr
Trompeta, Alfredo Chocolate Armenteros
Bajo, Marino Solano
Bongo, Juan Mendez
Conga, Tommy Lopez
Tres, Charlie Rodriguez
Maracas, Guiro y Ckaves, Anibal Jover
Ingeniero, Jon Fausty y David Rodriguez
Asistente Ingeniero, Kevin J. Zambrana
Mezcla, Jon Fausty y Roberto Torres
Coordinador, Alberto Insua
Productor, Roberto Torres
Consultante de Productor, Howard Roseff, Lee Myles Associates, New York
Mastering, Corte, Jack Adelman, RCA VICTOR
Arreglos, Alfredo Valdes jr
Fotografia, Rafael Llerena
Arte y Diseño, jose Exposito

(b 31 May '41, Vedado, Havana, Cuba) Pianist, arranger, composer and musical director; his father, renowned sonero Alfredo Valdés (b 23 Mar.'10, Havana, Cuba; d '88, NYC), worked with Septeto Nacional (Ignacio Piñeiro and his Septeto Nacional '92 on Tumbao compiles '30 recordings; two '40 sides incl. in Cuban Sextetos & Conjuntos '96 on Harlequin), Orquesta Casino de la Playa (two sides collected on Orquesta Casino de la Playa '95 on Harlequin), Tito Puente (Cuando Suenan Los Tambores '92 in RCA Tropical Series collects two tracks made '50), as a bandleader (George Goldner produced LP Viva Valdez '63 on Tico reissued '95, other '60s material compiled on Alfredito Valdés y su Charanga Popular '95 on Faisán with liner notes by Alfredo Jr.) and solo artist; mother, Ana María Purmuy, played guitar and sang with all-women Orquesta Anacaona; nephew of singer Vicentico Valdés (1921-1995), and percussionists Marcelino and Oscar Valdés; first cousin Lázaro Valdés played piano with Beny Moré. Grew up listening to Arsenio Rodríguez, Cheo Marquetti, Abelardito Valdés, Conjunto Casino, among others. His parents took him to the nearby Buena Vista Social Club, where Arsenio's conjunto were key performers. His mother encouraged him to play piano; jettisoned plan to become a lawyer when he began musical career '53. Relocated to the Bronx Nov. '56 to live with his father (who'd relocated there May '56); from mid-Dec. '56 until '59 played with his father's charanga (directed by violinist Rafael Oscar Muñoz Bouffartique); departed to work with Arsenio's conjunto '59-61; made recording debut with Arsenio on Cumbanchando con Arsenio (Fiesta en Harlem) '60 (or '62, accounts of its release date vary), prod. by Gabriel Oller for his SMC label.

He switched to Ray Barretto's Charanga Moderna '62-4, performing on Latino '62 on Riverside (incl. in 2 LP disc Carnaval '73 on Fantasy, reissued '93 as CD) and Charanga Moderna '62 (incl. Barretto's '63 top 20 USA pop hit "El Watusi" arranged by Alfredito), On Fire Again '63, The Big Hits Latin Style '63, La Moderna de Siempre '64, all on Tico. Replaced René Hernández as Machito's pianist on the the band's ill fated South American tour '64-5 (the promoter absconded with the payroll!). Married, had a child and relocated to Los Angeles Apr. '65; there worked with René Bloch (former lead alto with Pérez Prado), Las Estrellas del Tropico and percussionist Roger Darius (ex-Xavier Cugat) '65-7; following Darius's departure he became leader '67-8; also backed Puerto Rican diva Ruth Fernández (his godmother) with his own big band. Joined Johnny "Chano" Martínez's orchestra '71-6, southern California's busiest Latin band at the time.

Following his divorce '76, he returned to NYC and initially worked with Mario Bauzá and Graciela's band and sessioned on their La Botanica '77 on Lamp/Coco, which sold poorly at the time. Performed on Erupción '77 on Lamp/Coco by Orquesta Cimarrón (co-led by sonero Rafael de Jesús and trombonist Ron Davis); during mid-'70s also sessioned on an album by Boncana Maiga (tracks later collected on Best of Salsa '98 on Maestro Sound).

His appointment as staff musical director, pianist and arranger of the SAR, Guajiro, Toboga and Neon stable of labels (co-founded '79 by Sergio Bofil, boss of premier 10th Avenue Latin record distributor GB Records, Adriano García and Roberto Torres) marked the beginning of a wildly productive period. Mainly tailored for the West African and French speaking Caribbean markets, SAR's house style comprised of stretching out Cuban son montunos, guajiras and guaguancos, often using old Cuban standards, with plenty of space for soloing. This formula proved highly successful and arguably inspired the Estrellas de Areito sessions (recorded in Havana Nov. '79 under the direction of trombonist and EGREM staff arr./prod. Juan Pablo Torres; "best of" collected on Los Heroes '98 on World Circuit) and NYC recorded output of the Ivory Coast based Sacodis label (launched '80). Between '79 to '86, he worked on over 50 albums on SAR, and the allied Guajiro, Toboga and Neon labels, Sacodis, Promusa, Caimán (formed '83 by Bofil and Humberto Corredor) and Laslos (formed '84), incl. three solo albums: El Cachumbambe c '81 on Picante (reissued as Jamming In The Barn/ Descarga En El Guateque '98 on Picante), with funky lead vocalist Luis "El Tirano" Rodríguez, Alfredo Valdés Jr. y su Charanga '82 on Toboga (featuring flute maestro José Fajardo), A Cataño c '84 on Sacodis with Panamanian sonero Carlos "El Grande" (Carlos Ferrer), and ¡Su Piano y su Sabor! '86 on Palm, a sublime piano and rhythm set augmented by reedsman Paquito D'Rivera. He's particularly proud of the SAR album he made with his father, Alfredo Valdés Interpreta Sus Exitos Con El Septeto Nacional '81, for which he transcribed six songs originally written by Ignacio Piñeiro for the septeto format for a two trumpet-led conjunto setting. (A discography of this explosively creative interval in his career is given at the end of this profile.)

Following the decline of the SAR phenomenon, he worked as the music director and piano player at the La Bamba nightclub in Jamaica, Queens, '83-9. Meanwhile he worked on various albums, incl. Yo Soy El Son '87 on Palm (arr. title track and one other) and Fiesta De Besos '89 on El Abuelo (arr. one track) by Ray Ramos; El Muerto Se Fué De Rumba '87 on Tibiri (playing piano) and La Estrella Del Son '89 on El Abuelo (sharing piano duties with Sergio George and co-arr.) by Melcochita; Charanga Ranchera '89 on The Mayor (dir./arr.); and Este Se Miguel Quintana '88 on Laslos (co-arr.).

Began association with Cachao '91, initially touring colleges and universities with the Maestro. Made another solo piano and rhythm set, the highly regarded Up Tempo Mood '92 on Turquino, featuring Giovanni Hidalgo, Mario Rivera and Piro Rodríguez. Appeared in the '92 feature length documentary on Cachao: Cachao: Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos ; played piano and co-arr. on Monguito's El Padrino Del Son Montuno '93 on Manguito; participated in Cachao's Grammy winning Master Sessions Volume 1 '94 and Grammy nom. Master Sessions Volume II '95. Hooked-up with Humberto Corredor's Caimán Records '95; with them he directed three Caimán All Stars albums (Descarga In New York '95, Descarga del Milenio '97 and Descarga Brava 2000! '99), performed and co-arr. on Chocolate's instrumental set Chocolate & His Cuban Soul '98, played on Juan Pablo Torres' Descarga AfroCubana '98 and produced Papaíto's 2000 comeback CD. Substituted for pianist Rubén González with the Buena Vista Social Club group (featuring Ibrahim Ferrer) for a yet to be released Caimán session recorded '98, prod./ arr. by Juan Pablo Torres. Performed on Jimmy Bosch's first two albums Soneando Trombón '98 and Salsa Dura '99 on RykoLatino, and toured Europe with his band '98-9. Wrote transcriptions and played on Cachao's Cuba Linda 2000 on EMI Latin/ CineSon.

Alfredo Valdés Jr.'s discography for 1979 to 1986 includes the following albums (all the details given are for the original vinyl releases):

1979

SAR 1002 Monguito - Yo No Soy Mentiroso '79 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.

1980

SAR 1009 Chocolate - Prefiero El Son '80 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1011 Conjunto Crema - Roberto Torres Presenta Al Conjunto Crema co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1012 Henry Fiol - Fe, Esperanza y Caridad '80 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1013 Chocolate - Y Sigo Con Mi Son '80 Canta: Fernando Lavoy piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1014 Papaíto - Papaíto Rinde Homenaje A Abelardo Barroso '80 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1015 Linda Leida - Linda Leida '80 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1018 Roberto Torres - Roberto Torres y La Charanga Vallenata '80 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4000 Angelo - Angelo y su Conjunto Modelo '80 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4001 La India de Oriente - Desde El Cobre Amor! '80 piano/arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4002 Ritmo de Estrellas Roberto Torres Presenta Ritmo de Estrellas '80 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4003 Charlie Rodríguez Charlie Rodriguez y su Conjunto ; Canta Rey Reyes '80 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 21 Monguito - From Cuba To Africa '80 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS?? Don Alberto A Manhattan USA: Salsa Africana Vol.3 '80 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 30 Monguito - Charanga Para Todos Vol.1 '80 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 31 Monguito - En Curaçao '80 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 41 Monguito - Algo Diferente '80 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Promusa 001 Orquesta Super Estrellas de Gonzalo Fernández - Picao '80 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.

1981

SAR 1016 Roberto Torres - Recuerda Al Trio Matamoros '81 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1020 Laba Sosseh - Roberto Torres Presenta A Laba Sosseh '81 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1021 SAR All Stars - Recorded Live In Club Ochentas, Album 1 '81 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1022 SAR All Stars - Recorded Live In Club Ochentas, Album 2 '81 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1023 SAR All Stars - Interpretan A Rafael Hernández '81 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1024 Alfredo Valdés - Interpreta Sus Exitos Con El Septeto Nacional '81 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1025 Charanga De La 4 - Recuerda A Beny Moré Vol. 1 '81 dir./arrs./liner note Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1026 Henry Fiol - El Secreto '81 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4004 La India de Oriente - La India de Oriente '81 piano/arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4005 Conjunto Candela - Conjunto Candela 79 '81 special guest Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4007 Jorge Maldonado - Jorge Maldonado '81 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4009 Chico Alvarez - Montuneando '81 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4010 Charlie Rodríguez - Charlie Rodríguez y Rey Reyes '81 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4011 Roman - Roman y su Conjunto Nabori '81 arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4012 Angelo - Angelo y su Conjunto Modelo '81 piano/arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4013 Roberto Torres - Roberto Torres y su Charanga Vallenata Vol. 2 '81 piano/arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Neon NLP 103 Charanga Colonial - Charanga Colonial '81 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 51 Monguito - Monguito El Unico International '81 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Picante 201 Alfredo Valdés Jr. y su Conjunto Pimienta - El Cachumbambe c '81 (reissued as Jamming In The Barn/ Descarga En El Guateque '98 on Picante)

1982

SAR 1027 Conjunto Crema - La Masacre Musical '82 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1028 Charanga Casino - Charanga Casino '82 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1029 Laba Sosseh - Laba Sosseh '82 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1030 Papaíto - Papaíto '82 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1031 Chocolate - Chocolate Dice '82 arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1034 Roberto Torres - y su Charanga Vallenata Vol. III '82 piano/arrs. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Guajiro GLP 4014 La India de Oriente - Buenos Dias Africa '82 piano/arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Toboga TLP 611 Alfredo Valdés Jr. -Alfredo Valdés Jr. y su Charanga '82 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Toboga TLP 613 Monguito Monguito El Unico '82 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Toboga TLP 614 Alfredo de la Fé - Triunfo '82 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.

1983

SAR 1035 Charanga De La 4 - Recuerda A Beny Moré Vol. 2 '83 arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1036 Charanga De La 4 - Recuerda A Beny Moré Vol. 3 (Se Pegó) '83 arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.

1984

SAR 1038 Roberto Torres - Corazón de Pueblo '84 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
SAR 1040 Papaíto - Para Mis Amigos '84 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 68 Monguito - Alto Songo c '84 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 69 Various Artists - Montuno Para Ti, Vol. 1 c '84 with Melcochita and Monguito; piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 87 Alfredo Valdés Jr. y su Conjunto Fuego - A Cataño c '84 Canta: Carlos El Grande; piano/arr./mus. dir. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Sacodis LS 88 Melcochita y su Conjunto Monte Adentro - A Commer Lechon c '84 piano/arr./mus. dir. Alfredo Valdés Jr.

1985

1986

Caimán 9023 Rudy Calzado - Rica Charanga '86 piano Alfredo Valdés Jr.and co-dir. with Mario Bauzá
Laslos LSL 0005 Miguel Quintana - Sentimiento y Son '86 piano/arrs./mus. dir. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Laslos LSL 0006 Conjunto Candela - El Sabor Del Conjunto Candela/86 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Laslos LSL 0009 Angelo y su Conjunto Modelo - Aquí Está El Son '86 co-piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Curramba CLP 7002 Héctor Casanova - Casanova y Montuno: Solido ' 86 co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Caballo CR 1660 Melcochita - Con Sabor a Pueblo '86 piano/co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.
Palm LP 8603 Alfredo Valdés Jr. - Su Piano y su Sabor! '86 piano/prod./co-arr. Alfredo Valdés Jr.