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The list of magnificent Cuban musicians — whose influence has extended far beyond their homeland — ranges from percussionists like Chano Pozo and Mongo Santamaria to such vocalists as Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan and instrumentalists like Israel “Cachao” Lopez.
But many other master players haven’t enjoyed the same exposure, mainly because of their decision to remain in Cuba where their work generally gets less attention, rather than defect to the West. One of these is the phenomenal pianist Chucho Valdes, whose technique and facility places him right alongside any active jazz or Latin music soloist who has emerged during the latter part of the 20th century and beyond. He’s also the son of Bebo Valdes, also an astonishing keyboard artist who remains active today despite approaching the age of 90.
Valdes can play intricate passages and execute amazing solos with flair and ease, and he’s just as accomplished a classical stylist as an improviser. He’s comfortable in any tempo, and offers accompaniment behind vocalists that rivals the quality of his solo fare.
A wonderful new CD Featuring Cachaito (Disconforme) covers 20 tracks that also highlight Valdes’ versatility. There are blistering and tender unaccompanied piano pieces from the ‘70s and ‘80s, a stunning adaptation of “My Reverie,” where Valdes takes the original Debussy piece and reworks it, teaming with flautists Jose Luiz Cortes and German Velazco and bassist Carlos del Puerto in a bold, fresh interpretation that still honors Debussy’s intended structure.
The disc also contains other masterful pieces where Valdes pays tribute via spiraling forays, nimble leaps and amazing melodic explorations to famed Cuban composers Manuel Saumell and Jose White.
He’s joined on 10 cuts by Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez, nephew of Israel, who demonstrates his own prowess on such cuts as “Dos perlas y un Dolor” and “Cancion de la Tarde.” While classic Cuban works are the thematic foundation, Chucho Valdes also intersperses references from many other genres into these numbers, demonstrating a range and approach that is highly personal and distinctive, yet also squarely fits within the Afro-Cuban tradition. This is wonderful and remarkable work from a player who deserves far more recognition and acclaim beyond jazz or world music circles.

nashvillecitypaper.com

Looking at these images, you wonder about the child’s future – that is, if she can survive.
Gradually your thoughts drift to the baby’s parents.
How would they be feeling?
Pretty sad and concerned, you think.
Far from it, the parents of the girl born with four eyes, two mouths and two heads think their newborn daughter is simply a deity incarnated.
It is not just them.
The people in the rural Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, 50km north east of New Delhi, are not ashamed of this extraordinary looking girl.
The villagers claim she is the incarnation of the Hindu God Ganesha – who has an elephant head – and celebrated her arrival with clapping, cheering and offerings of gifts and money.
Her parents are yet to name the girl, who was born three weeks ago. They have ruled out surgery to correct the deformity.
‘At first I was a little bit afraid,’ Mr Vinod Kumar Singh, the 24-year-old father of the girl, told ABC News. ‘But then I accepted whatever God gives.’
This is not the first case of a deformed child being looked upon as an incarnation of the divine in India.
A few months ago, the media reported the case of a toddler born with eight limbs in northern India’s Bihar state.
The girl, Lakshmi Tatma, was born joined to a ‘parasitic twin’.
In November, she underwent a 27-hour operation by 30 surgeons in Bangalore to remove two of her useless arms and legs.
In India’s rural villages where people have low literacy levels, it is surprising that deformed children are not reviled.
Instead, they are revered.
In the case of the girl with two faces, villagers flocked to her home to touch her feet, dance at her bedside and offer the family money.
‘It’s a gift of God. Some people say she is like a goddess. They call the baby a face of a goddess,’ Mr Harsharan Singh, the village math teacher, told ABC News.

newpaper.asia1.com.sg