Border-Free

Cuba's foremost jazz pianist Chucho Valdes - winner of five GRAMMY Awards and three Latin GRAMMY Awards - has developed a brand-new repertoire. Boasting a new line-up for his band, the Afro-Cuban Messengers, and a guest appearance from saxophonist Branford Marsalis on three tracks, his new album Border-Free takes US through an eclectic range of pieces. Alongside new sources of inspiration (the music of the North American Indians and of the Arab-Andalusian culture), the album is infused with the verve of Valdes's early trail-blazing Cuban jazz ensemble Irakere, his nostalgia for Cuban big bands, the punch of hard bop, the magical rhythms of the Yoruba drums and of course the spiritual lyricism that is the mark of all great jazz.