On this 13-track recording of voice and piano duets, there is no doubt from the first note to the last that you are experiencing the complete mastery of two Cuban music legends. Individually, the genius Valdés brings to his instrument, the piano, and the dramatic, bluesy, off-the-cuff singing (in Spanish) of the husky, pitch-perfect, purely articulated Portuondo, can both easily stand alone. But together, in this setting, they are making magic. You'll hear a variety of themes written by non-published Cuban composers (two by Valdés, ) suggested on the spot in the studio. It allows the two a rare spontaneity and freedom from rhythmic structures that is created, not produced. There are songs of love, regret, straight blues, the indomitable spirit of the oppressed Cuban peoples, pleading for salvation, and especially, lost in depression ("No Puedo Ser Feliz" ("Cannot Be Happy").

The longevity and the durability of the musical relationship between Paquito D’Rivera and Chucho Valdés give a freedom and flexibility to these performances on I Missed You Too! that defies all logic; they certainly go way beyond the kind of politely mannered performances that might ensue when musical friends get together after what seems like an age. In the case of Mr Valdés and Mr D’Rivera it is a relationship that began when the latter was introduced to the former by a revered friend Samuel Téllez.

In 1962, two of the most influential and talented instrumentalists that Cuba ever produced were brought together. Saxophonist/clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera was invited to hear pianist Chucho Valdés at a local club in his Marianao neighborhood of South Havana. The two soon became a musical partnership that helped shape jazz in Cuba. Their paths would separate in 1980 when D’Rivera left Cuba.

Hace tres años, Nueva Orleans fue arrasada por el Huracán Katrina dejando tras de sí cerca de 1.500 muertos. Esta catástrofe fue la que inspiró al cubano Chucho Valdés para componer su nuevo disco, Canto a Dios, una oración para que "no vuelva a suceder nada igual", ha explicado hoy el músico. En este álbum, que se presenta ahora en España, Chucho Valdés (hijo del también músico cubano Bebo Valdés) ha reunido cinco temas, dos de ellos inéditos, en los que junto con la Orquesta y el Coro Nacional de Cuba fusiona el jazz con la música sinfónica en un tributo a la ciudad de Nueva Orleans, el río Misisipi y África.