Kiki Valera will be performing at Bake's Place on Friday, May 31, as part of the Bellevue Jazz Festival.
Son Cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba & Kiki Valera is one of its foremost exponents. Over the last century, this style of Cuban music contributed to many other genres including jazz, mambo, cha cha cha, salsa, songo and timba. Cuban son is the music that made the Buena Vista Social Club worldwide stars in the late 1990s but Kiki Valera comes from a family of musicians whose involvement with Cuban are pre-dates the BVSC by decades.
This red hot band of high energy super-danceable Cuban music features four virtuoso Kiki Valera's dazzling alone along with the intricate polyrhythms of percussionists Pedro Vargas on bongos and Joe de Jesus on congas. The rest of the lineup includes Steve Mostovoy on trumpet, Alfredo Polier on vocals / maracas, Javier Marú on guitar and Dean Schmidt on bass.