VIVENCIAS EN CLAVE CUBANA (JUST RELEASED)

Kiki will be debuting songs from his upcoming CD at Seattle’s Earshot Jazz Festival on Saturday, Oct 26th. VIVENCIAS EN CLAVE CUBANA is a compendium of musical stories from his life experiences in Cuba. It features all original Cuban sones, boleros and guarachas and was composed and arranged entirely by Kiki and his childhood friend Coco Freeman (ex-cantante of Adalberto Álvarez y su Son and NG La Banda). It will be released on Origin Records on October 18th. Stay tuned!

Radio Gladys Palmera

La música le viene a Kiki Valera de familia, pero no de cualquier familia. Kiki es heredero de la tradición de la Familia Valera Miranda, uno de los grupos musicales que obligaron al mundo a volver a mirar a la música cubana. Sucedió en 1982 con el lanzamiento del álbum Antología Integral del Son, del sello Areíto, una especie de obra antropológico-musical en busca de los orígenes del ritmo por antonomasia de Cuba.

De aquellas iniciativas de Danilo Orozco y de aquellos cantos de Milla Miranda (¡Para ti Nengón!) viene Kiki, quien fue director de este conjunto familiar en Santiago y que hoy presenta su debut en solitario desde Seattle, junto a una nueva generación de músicos Cubanos.

El debut se llama Vivencias en Clave Cubana y es un compendio festivo y tropical de historias musicales muy personales, donde pone su pluma y su voz el sonoro Coco Freeman. Hay sones, hay boleros, hay guarachas y, sobre todo, hay mucho cariño por la tradición. Kiki, por supuesto, se reparte entre el cuatro, la guitarra y la percusión menor, mientras cuatro músicos tocan bajo, congas, bongós y trompeta; y otros tantos hacen las voces principales y los coros.

Radio Gladys Palmera presenta en exclusiva esta obra plena de cubana que ha prensado el sello Origin Records. Doce canciones que comienzan, por supuesto, con un homenaje al son: Mi son viene de la loma, como dijo Matamoros, regando su melodía por donde quiera que pasa. Hay que escucharlo y bailarlo.

MUSIC REVIEW BY CHRIS SPECTOR, MIDWEST RECORD

Valera comes to making a great record organically. He's part of a 100 year old Cuban music dynasty and he was influenced by seminal jazzbo guitar greats. Then he hit's the bulls eye in crafting the kind of set that maintains it's ethnic purity while being the kind of stuff that completely knocks gringos off their pins. Here's the acid test: if you were to hear this playing at a Cuban restaurant, you'd go back there again for this music and the plantains without your girl friend even nagging you. Muy mucho caliente!

Entrevista Con Taino Roldán, Radio Brisa Tropical

Kiki Valera

By

Paul de Barros

Special to The Seattle Times

Kiki Valera, who came up in the highly respected Cuban family band La Familia Valera Miranda, is one of the world’s greatest exponents of the cuatro, the small Cuban instrument with four pairs of strings. Valera specializes in son, the infectious call-and-answer Cuban song form, but solos like a jazz guy. His band is celebrating the release of its irresistible, pristinely produced album, “Vivencias En Clave Cubana” (8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, Town Hall).

Cuban Sunshine With Kiki Valera And La Serenata Cubana

By ROBIN LLOYD

Kiki Valera comes from the famous La Familia Valera Miranda, a multi-generational traditional musical group from Santiago de Cuba.  He’s known as one of the world’s greatest players of the Cuban guitar known as the cuatro.  

La Serenata Cubana is Kiki Valera's first big solo (without La Familia) project in the US, bringing together top-notch musicians from Cuba and Seattle to celebrate Cuba’s musical traditions of son, bolero, guaracha, and guajira.  Prior to their show at the Triple Door on July 13, they brought sunshine to our studios for a delightful performance and interview. 

Songs:

1.   Pajaro Lindo

2.   El Empanadillero

3.   El Perro de Juan

4.    Sobre Una Tumba, Una Rumba

Musicians:Kiki Valera-cuatro, Javier Marú-guitar, José Joaqin Alayo-bass, Alexis B-trumpet, Coco Freeman-lead vocals, José de Jesús-conga drums, Steve Smith-bongos and percussion.

Cuban Sunshine For A Rainy Seattle - Kiki Valera Concert At SAM

By JIM WILKE

The cheerful sound of Cuban son music is featured in a concert performance on this week's Jazz Northwest. The concert was recorded earlier this month when the band played at The Seattle Art Museum as part of the Art of Jazz series presented by Earshot.  It's sunny music and a perfect antidote for a rainy Seattle day.

Kiki Valera is considered by many to be Cuba's finest cuatro player and after 25 years directing La Familia Valera Miranda in Santiago de Cuba, he is now living in Seattle and working with his new Seattle band, Cubaché.

The seven member band includes cuatro, guitar, bass, congas and bongos with two lead singers who also play miscellaneous percussion.  Most of the members also sing as the coros. The band played for a capacity audience and many were on their feet and dancing before the concert was over.