Amadito Valdes
Bajando Gervasio
Sue Miller reviews Bajando Gervasio, showcasing the talents of Buena Vista Social Club timbale player Amadito Valdes. ‘Bajando Gervasio’ features inventive arrangements and a feast of beautiful solos set against a backdrop of elegant clarity from a tight and ‘timbre-ful’ percussion section….
The timbale player Amadito Valdes, the unsung hero of the Buena [...]
Article written for the British Flute Society Journal PAN on the Charanga Flute players of Cuba, focussing on the work of Richard Egües, Antonio Arcaño, José Fajardo, Eddie Zervigon, Joaquín Oliveros and Eduardo Rubio.
Eddy Zervigon rang me up after hearing my flute playing on the internet and invited me over to perform with him in Orquesta Broadway – here’s some video footage of the event
The following interview took place in Betty’s Tea Rooms in Harrogate 9 May 2008
Sue Miller: Hola Amadito!
Amadito Valdes: Hola Sue! Encantado!
SM: Como esta? Esta bien?
AV: Muy bien, muy bien
SM: Bueno, quiero saber como es el publico para la música cubana de Buena Vista aqui en Inglaterra…
Translation: How do the English audiences respond to [...]
The following interview took place in Havana in 2001.
SM: Interview:
MF: My name is Melquiades Fundora Dina. I was born in Nueva Paz, a village just outside Havana, on 20 March 1926. My first teachers were my parents. My mother played the double bass and my father the trumpet. I learnt to read and write [...]