Chucho Valdés & Paquito D’Rivera Reunion Sextet

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Paquito D’Rivera, left, and Chucho Valdés.

Paquito D’Rivera, left, and Chucho Valdés.

The musical partnership of Chucho Valdés and Paquito D’Rivera dates back to 1960s Havana, including many years in the groundbreaking band Irakere. D’Rivera departed Cuba in 1980, but the duo rekindled their partnership in 2022 with the Reunion Sextet. Valdés’ piano lines build and D’Rivera’s clarinet cuts through with an ease that only comes from decades of shared language; the sextet allows plenty of room for their musical conversation. It’s virtuosic but never about showing off. Tickets at artsticketing.wisc.edu. Note: The artists also will participate in a free UW Interdisciplinary Arts Community Session talk, at 5 p.m. on April 29 in Shannon Hall, moderated by Nick Moran and Ricardo Gonzalez.

media release: Two of jazz’s most influential artists, pianist Chucho Valdés and saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, will bring their reunion sextet to Shannon Hall at Memorial Union on April 30 at 7:30 p.m., closing the Wisconsin Union Theater’s (WUT’s) 2025–2026 Jazz Series.

Valdes, a pianist, arranger and composer, and D’Rivera, a saxophonist, clarinetist, writer and composer, each have acclaimed careers. They also have a friendship spanning 60 years. The pair reunited in 2022 for their album “I Missed You Too!” and began a tour through the United States and Europe.

Known for their band Irakere, Valdés and D’Rivera have amassed a collection of more than 25 Latin Grammy and Grammy Awards, including Best Latin Jazz Album for their 2022 project. Other honors for both musicians include a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowship and a Berklee College of Music honorary doctorate of music.

The performance will include Valdeìs on piano, D’Rivera on alto saxophone and clarinet, trumpeter and trombonist Diego Urcola, bassist José Armando Gola, drummer Dafnis Prieto and percussionist Roberto Jr. Vizcaiìno. The sextet will perform new compositions, Latin jazz standards and Latin American classics.

“Our 2025-2026 season is going out with a bang, thanks to these two jazz giants,” WUT Director Elizabeth Snodgrass said. “Both of them are from Havana, both came from musical families, both were childhood prodigies, and together they set the course of Afro-Cuban jazz for several decades. Their musical and personal bond come through on stage. It’s going to be a memorable night.”

Tickets can be purchased online, in person at the Memorial Union Box Office or by phone at (608) 265-2787.

This performance is co-presented by WUT and the Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee with support from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

The Wisconsin Union will also host an Interdisciplinary Arts Community Sessions (IACS) event, titled “In Conversation with Chucho & Paquito,” on April 30 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Festival Room at Memorial Union. Moderated by Madison-based bassist and University of Wisconsin–Madison instructor Nick Moran and WORT La Junta radio program founder Ricardo Gonzalez, this free, public event will feature a conversation with Valdés and D’Rivera, including an audience question-and-answer session. IACS events aim to create a space for students, campus partners and community members to explore the intersection of real-world artistic practice, academic inquiry and cultural dialogue.

For more information about this and other WUT events, visit union.wisc.edu/theater.