Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés brings his Royal Quartet to Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa on Saturday, Sept. 26, with the 84-year-old bandleader marking six decades of recording. The show follows the ensemble's San Francisco performances this year. Valdés, described as one of the most influential figures in modern Afro-Cuban jazz, continues a career spanning decades.
According to mim.org, the Royal Quartet lineup joining Valdés includes bassist José Armando Gola, drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernández and percussionist Roberto Jr. Vizcaino. The group's Grammy-nominated debut album, titled Cuba and Beyond, first introduced audiences to this configuration, and per the same source Valdés was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2025. Tickets for the Tampa performance are available now, as Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reports.
A Career Rooted in Irakere
Valdés was born Oct. 9, 1941, in Quivicán, Havana Province, Cuba, and he celebrates his 85th birthday this year, according to the Arsht Center. He launched the band Irakere in 1973 with a cast that included saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, as noted by SFJAZZ. That band went on to make its U.S. debut at Carnegie Hall in June 1978 after signing with Columbia Records, according to the Big Ears Festival.
The accolades from that career vary depending on the source. MIM lists seven Grammys and six Latin Grammys among Valdés' honors, while the Arsht Center cites 15 Grammy Awards including seven Latin Grammys. Similarly, SFJAZZ describes his solo output as 25 albums, while the Arsht Center puts his career at 94 albums as a leader — a discrepancy that reflects differing ways of counting his decades of recorded work.
Royal Quartet Marks 60 Years of Recording
Valdés launched the Royal Quartet in September 2024 specifically to celebrate 60 years of recording, according to a review from Backstage Bay Area. The Royal Quartet performs with Valdés, bassist José Armando Gola, drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernández and percussionist Roberto Jr. Vizcaino. Earlier this year, the band's SFJAZZ residency, originally set for late February, was pushed to June 11-14, 2026, the venue's own listing shows.
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay reports that Valdés has also released a new album called Uncut on the InnerJazz label, which the outlet describes as featuring eight tracks of solo piano recorded in one continuous session without edits or second takes.
What Tampa Fans Can Expect
Saturday's performance at Ferguson Hall brings together a band built around Valdés' six-decade legacy and his current quartet's road-tested chemistry. The Tampa date is set for Sept. 26, 2026. For a musician still touring and recording at 84, the Tampa stop offers local audiences a rare chance to hear an artist whose influence traces back to Irakere's earliest days performing in a genre he helped define.
