When the art is good, two artists are sufficient 

At a time when Cuban music – the great art of the island involves a considerable amount of dissonance, when the timba, the Cuban version of salsa, campaigns to recapture those spheres of recognition and attention, the requéton (damned, diluted but still exceptionally powerful) sustains itself and is one of the fields in which some of Cuba’s most creative musicians finally made it and opened up the international market – an achievement which was formerly out of reach, the two cousins, Ramón and Orlando “Maraca“ Valle go aboard their small, homely but comfortably equipped boat to go against the tide, or to follow the stream which was theirs from the beginning. 

It is what makes “The Art of Two” an uncommon, though quite predictable, CD. Uncommon, because it simply aspires to what it is, regardless of further ambitions: great music, well-performed and without showing off or modifying it to meet the regional conditions of the market. Predictable, because, in accordance with the accomplishments and careers of both pianist Ramón Valle and flautist Orlando Valle (first cousins, in case you didn’t know) nothing less than a musical lusciousness was to be expected. 

A piano and a flute are sufficient to create this gem. However, the instruments are played by two of the most talented and agile exponents of contemporary Cuban music, both of whom are endowed with strong musical concepts as well as exquisite interpretative skill, with which they mould and furbish this precious gem. 

Beause of their skills and affinity with classical music, they were able to use the best musical instruments during their studies at the academy. As a result, they could put into practice what has long been their strongest desire: playing music which is inspired by the two most influential African-American sources: Jazz and original Cuban Music, transcending the limitations the limits of genre. Style and format with the utmost freedom, while still maintaining a fundament, which goes beyond categories (which are often falsely set) of what is serious, classical music and what is popular music: the gospel of the artistic quality of their projects and interpretations. 

This is the reason why “The Art of Two” is not only a testimony which discloses the artistic maturity of the two masters of jazz and Cuban music, but which is also a clear indication of how premium jazz may arise, while by-passing any stereotypes and simplifications and starting from the base of an essential and generally accepted Cubania, which evolves into a universal and contemporary lushness of sound. 

A principle which is deeply musical is evoked on this CD, plus the implementation of good taste. 

From their choice of their own original themes and themes by others, to the arrangements and interpretations, the music has an elegance which adorns itself with melancholy melodies, a substantial element of tradition – which provides a welcome contast to the contemporary sound and simultaneously empowers it with musical potency, which seeks to – and may easily abandon and virtuosic embellishment, because the stringency and the solidity of musical mastery is already inherent. 

The ten pieces on the CD are assembled like a mellow, hypnotizing stream. After the lyrical “Johana” (Ramón Valle), which draws the curtain, we approach the smooth “Love For Marah” (Orlando Valle) then dive deep into Cubania with “El Guanajo Relleno” (by the great Ignacio Pinero) and involve ourselves  in the rhythmic jazz of “Latin For Two” and “Tu mi Delirio” (Cesar Portillo de la Luz) to the sound and twilight of Havana, only to get electrified by “Guajira con Tumbao” the subtle interpretation of a vintage piece of Cuban dance music, and to finally disband with the timidly melancholic interpretations of “Puentes” and “Amigos” (both from Ramón Valle), which may be the most personal documents on the CD. 

While I am making the entire journey of “The Art of Two” for the third and fourth time, from the beginning to the end and without any pause, a question comes to me repeatedly: Regardless of the genre, what are the essentials for good music? Well, when listening to this CD, I once again find that it is the musicians who are gifted with talent and who are blessed with sensitivity and a sense of the required temperament. For, although music is often a spectacle, it is always and has forever an invitation to enjoy an art which reaches the minds a nd hearts of audiences. 

The German label, IN + OUT Records, which specializes in jazz and is well-known for the quality of its albums, enables us to cherish this gem which if offered to us by the Valle cousins on board their barque, going against the current stream – or shaping a stream of their own through the artistry of two Cubans, who prove to us that the music of our island is greater than our geography. 

Leonardo Padura  (September 2016)