38 y medio irakere biography

Rumor Records' Jazz Cuba series cherry picks from recordings made primarily for local consumption from the mid s through the late s at the Panart and Areito studios in Havana, Cuba.

Some may briefly have surfaced in the US via the Cuban exile community, but none have previously been released in the UK or mainland Europe.

The first five releases include four albums led by or featuring pianist Chucho Valdes which trace the genesis of the seminal jazz-and-roots band Irakere, from Chucho Valdes & Combo in , through the Orquesta Cubana De Musica Moderna in the late s, and onto some of the first recordings by Irakere itself in the mid s.

The fifth disc is rather different: a album by the rumba band Los Papines with the late pianist and Bueno Vista Social Club star Ruben Gonzalez.

A second batch of five CDs, due for release later this summer, will include similarly hard-to-find albums by Bebo Valdes, Cachao, Chico O'Farrill and Los Amigos.