Escambray, Cuba
Oct 13 2006
Charles Aznavour and Chucho Valdes to Record Together in Cuba
Charles Aznavour, a giant of French music, is in Havana recording an
album with the virtuoso Cuban pianist and composer Chucho Valdes. The
disc will have a romantic focus featuring the warm voice of Aznavour,
82, fused with the tropical rhythms of Cuba.
Aznavour arrived to Cuba on Sunday and is practicing 11 songs with
Valdes to prepare for recording, starting next week. The disc is
scheduled for release in February or March of 2007 and features an
instrumental piece, said Valdes in an interview with AFP.
"He [Aznavour] is an idol in Europe and Latin America. I was very
familiar with his music because I have always liked his work," said
the Cuban composer during a break in rehearsal.
Chucho Valdes arranged all the songs on the album that will be
recorded in Havana’s Abdala studio. A monster in his own right,
Valdes, with five Grammies under his belt, turned 65 last Monday.
During the interview, Valdes said the songs are about love and life.
"They are new songs, lovely, beautiful, that carry the hallmark of
Aznavour but with a Latin, Cuban touch.
"Being familiar with his repertoire, with his style, we have been
able to come together in a great way and the practices are turning
out beautifully."
Aznavour, the son of Armenian immigrants and whose real name is
Aznavourian, collaborated with another Cuban musician in 2002, Compay
Segundo (Francisco Repilado, d. July 13, 2003), with whom he recorded
the song Morir de amor (Dying from love) on the album Duets.
Aznavour was born in Paris on May 22, 1924. Edith Piaf, who called
him "the stupid genius," gave him his first big break when he
accompanied her on piano from 1946 to 1954. He has 740 songs in his
repertoire including 350 in French and 150 in English.
The songwriter-composer, who has also been an actor both on
television and the silver screen, is well known for English hits like
She, Dance in the Old Fashioned Way, and the French hits, Apres
l’amour, J’Ai Perdu la Tete, J’en Deduis Que Je t’Aime and Bon
Anniversaire.
"He’s a giant. It has been a great honor to be asked to participate
in this very original project. We have chosen rhythms from the Cuban
romantic genres and adopted them for him," said Chucho Valdes.
Aznavour came up with the idea to record with Valdes when he was in
France this year playing a concert with French composer-pianist
Michel Legrand.
Chucho Valdes said that the record will feature many different
converging rhythms: "The work is so special that it would be hard to
categorize it as a certain genre; there are new elements, rhythms
adopted that give the songs a new sonority."
"We can’t say that there are Cha cha chas, boleros, habaneras,
because the sound we are making has nothing to do with these rhythms;
instead, it is romantic music with a Cuban rhythm."
Chucho brings along his quartet for the musical accompaniment on the
record along with a horn and percussion section. "This is a very
original project […] Aznavour is enjoying it as much as we are."
Jesus (Chucho) Valdes is considered one of the best pianists in the
world and is a renowned orchestra director and composer of such
masterpieces as Mambo Influenciado and Misa Negra.
He is also one of the most transcendental figures in jazz and Cuban
music today and is putting the finishing touches on an album called
Chucho Sinfonico and another that he recorded along with
singer-songwriter Pablo Milanes. Both albums are scheduled for
release this December.