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If you caught the IMAX motion picture presentation of Calle 54 (director Fernando Trueba’s biopic of various Latin Jazz musicians performing together), you know that the 83-year old Valdes practically stole the show from musicians one-third his age. His energy and spirit are completely infectious. 

Revered in Cuba during the '40s for popularizing the mambo and the infectious batanga beat, Valdes fled to Stockholm during the '60s, experimenting there with various ethnic forms and jazz-inflected improvisations. It wasn't until saxist Paquito D'Rivera urged him back into the studio a few years ago (at the age of 72), that the nimble pianist found favor with a third generation of music lovers, eager to hear his mixture of traditional sambas and boleros with fantastic, stream-of-consciousness solo forays. 

Valdes still continues searching for new ways to express himself. Using this rather subdued session (with bassist Israel Lopez and conga percussionist Carlos "Patato" Valdes), Valdes examines the soothing nuances and classical structures amidst the bouncy rhythms (akin to the chamber jazz of the Modern Jazz Quartet). 

Make no mistake, the music is no less fiery and amazing, as Bebo and his partners are quick to jump to tangents, like the medley "Conga Potpourri" featuring five distinct themes in just over three-and-a-half minutes. But then they also astound with their versatility, like their off-centered take of "Route 66," which would have the Isotope/KenVandermark crowd drop-jawed in awe. 

Essential for the Latin jazz lover.