Cuba News and Information

Fosters.com

Chucho Valdes will pay tribute to New Orleans and the victims of Hurricane Katrina with an original composition this weekend during Cuba’s annual international jazz festival.

The Grammy-winning pianist will host this year’s event, Jazz Plaza 2005, opening in Havana on Thursday, Cuba’s state media reported.

The tribute concert, featuring Valdes’ composition “Canto a Dios,” will be performed Sunday at the event’s closing by the pianist, his quartet, Cuba’s National Symphonic Orchestra and Cuba’s National Chorus. The words to the new song were written by Cuban folk singer Pablo Milanes.

Musicians expected at the four-day event include Chicago-based jazz vocalist Lola Pfeiffer, Canadian trombonist Hugh Fraser and Brazilian pianist and composer Ivan Lins, who won the 2005 Latin Grammy album of the year for his “Cantando Historias.”

The 64-year-old Valdes released his latest album, “Virtuoso,” earlier this month.