Pianist Chucho Valdés marks his 85th birthday with a performance at the Music Center at Strathmore, tracing a career that has shaped Afro-Cuban jazz. His band Irakere revolutionized Latin jazz in the early 1970s, fusing Afro-Cuban ritual music, popular styles, jazz, rock, and classical elements. More recently, his 2025 album, Cuba and Beyond, recorded with the Royal Quartet, blends Cuban traditions with Thelonious Monk-influenced jazz. This retrospective brings that innovation into focus, honoring a seven-time Grammy and seven-time Latin Grammy winner whose influence continues to move the genre forward.