Formed in Cuba in the early 1970s by pianist Chucho Valdés, saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, trumpeter Jorge Varona, guitarist Carlos Emilio Morales, bassist Carlos del Puerto, drummer Bernardo Garcia and percussionist Oscar Valdés II, Irakere has had many different line-ups over the years. Valdés took an aggregation of young Cuban musicians on a tour of America to mark the band's 40th anniversary in 2015 and released a new album, 'Chucho Valdés: Tribute to Irakere (Live in Marciac)' that was recorded in France.
The band grew originally out of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna in Havana with a mix of dance music, funk and elements of classical. Drawing also on bebop, they performed at the Belgrade Jazz Festival and the Warsaw Jazz Festival in 1977 and later at the jazz festivals in Newport, New York, and Montreux, Switzerland. An album recorded at the latter events titled 'Irakere' won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980. Many other albums have been issued over the years including two volumes of 'The Legendary Irakere in London' in 1988 and 1989 and 'Live at Ronnie Scott's' in 1993. The latest revived band debuted at the 2014 Barcelona Jazz Festival and also toured in Europe.
