There are few more revered Cuban musicians than Chucho Valdés, linchpin of an emerging latin-jazz dynasty, founder of Afro-Cuban innovators Irakere and winner of numerous Grammys. Border-Free begins in a spirit of happy, busy, percussive profusion with ‘Congadanza’, which is exactly what its title unambiguously suggests even to non-Spanish-speakers like me, and has Valdés’s remarkably lithe 71-year-old fingers dancing up and down his keyboard. ‘Caridad Amaro’ (again, you don’t need much Spanish to work out what that means) slows the pace and heads off into romantic-balladry but still nimble-footed territory, while ‘Afro-Comanche’ sees the band stretching itself rhythmically and stylistically, to take on board Native American inspirations and much else besides: it’s a remarkable exercise. Big band meets hard bop meets Yoruba drumming – it’s all here on these eight tracks. Valdés’ previous release, 2010’s Grammy-winning Chucho’s Steps, featured a track written in honour of the Marsalis clan. As if to return the compliment, one of the latter, the irrepressible Branford, turns up on three of the cuts here, bringing a little of that Marsalis magic to ‘Tabú’, ‘Bebo’ and the sparkling, ants-in-its-pants set closer, ‘Abdel’.