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HAROLD L\u00d3PEZ-NUSSA RETURNS WITH NUEVA TIMBA<\/strong> <\/p>\n On NUEVA TIMBA<\/strong>, the new Blue Note album from the Cuban-born pianist Harold L\u00f3pez-Nussa<\/strong>, the jazz vanguard meets multiple eras of Cuba\u2019s musical history with results that are at once accessible, life-affirming and strikingly accomplished. Featuring a core of unmatched talent \u2014 Harold\u2019s brother, Ruy Adrian L\u00f3pez-Nussa, on drums; Luques Curtis on bass; and the harmonica virtuoso Gr\u00e9goire Maret \u2014 it feels like a definitive vision for the future of Latin jazz.<\/p>\n On \u201cBonito y Sabroso,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Nussa condenses the power of Benny Mor\u00e9\u2019s big band into a small-group arrangement, then adds modern, psychedelic hues through electronics and the beat-making of Jos\u00e9 Angel Blanco, a.k.a. El Negro WADPRO. Other highlights include \u201cNi\u00f1a Con Violin,\u201d written by L\u00f3pez-Nussa\u2019s uncle, the acclaimed pianist Ern\u00e1n L\u00f3pez-Nussa, with gorgeous melodic bass work from Curtis. An arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona\u2019s \u201cGitanerias\u201d offers a master class in accenting classical virtuosity with a contemporary rhythmic thrust. The L\u00f3pez-Nussa original \u201cCerca y Lejos\u201d boasts welcome shades of early fusion-era Chick Corea. The months and then years of the Covid-19 pandemic saw Harold L\u00f3pez-Nussa living a strange and at times frightening dual existence. He was one of Cuba\u2019s finest young pianists \u2014 an exhilarating presence at the world\u2019s most important jazz festivals, and the most successful member of a musical dynasty that includes his father, the great drummer Ruy L\u00f3pez-Nussa, and his uncle. He remembered his paternal grandmother, who was born in France and emigrated to Cuba in the 1960s, and how much he loved her and her home \u2014 a magical \u201clittle France\u201d ensconced in the Caribbean, says L\u00f3pez-Nussa. He chose Toulouse, in the south of France, for its beauty and pleasant weather, and carried out the excruciating task of telling his father about the move. \u201cIt was a big shock for him,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Nussa says. \u201cBecause my brother left also. So that means all my father\u2019s grandchildren \u2014 my two daughters and my brother\u2019s two sons \u2014 were leaving him. But he supported us 100 percent<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Unfortunately, when L\u00f3pez-Nussa arrived in Toulouse toward the end of 2021, it didn\u2019t match the quaint paradise he held in his mind\u2019s eye. \u201cIt was gray every day,\u201d he says. \u201cIt rained constantly.\u201d He called a friend who\u2019d recommended the picturesque \u201cPink City\u201d and asked what the deal was. \u201cMan,\u201d his friend replied, \u201cit\u2019s almost winter.\u201d That sodden, bleak weather overtook the pianist\u2019s headspace as well, and for a long while, things only seemed to get worse.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to say,\u201d L\u00f3pez-Nussa reflects, \u201cthat the first year in France for me was horrible. Horrible. I fell into a depression. Sometimes in my house, alone, I\u2019d just cry. Like, what? I didn\u2019t know what was happening to me.\u201dThat\u2019s how sorrow works: New traumas make older ones resonate within you once again, and before you know it, you\u2019re besieged by a melancholy that doesn\u2019t add up. In L\u00f3pez-Nussa\u2019s case, the unresolved grief of his mother\u2019s passing returned in full force, and it remains something he struggles with. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to speak about my mom because I miss her so much every day,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n As difficult as it may be, remembering his late mother also seems to bring him joy \u2014 especially when L\u00f3pez-Nussa recalls his humble but richly loving upbringing in Havana. Half of the family\u2019s two-room home doubled as a dining area and a space where his mother taught classical piano lessons \u2014 including the canon of Cuban classical music that had a tremendous influence on L\u00f3pez-Nussa. Nearly two decades ago, when L\u00f3pez-Nussa was in his early 20s, his mother suffered a stroke without warning \u201cand did not recover,\u201d he says pensively. NUEVA TIMBA<\/strong> is the second album L\u00f3pez-Nussa has recorded for the label, following 2023\u2019s Timba a la Americana. A live\/studio hybrid, it was captured at the club Le Duc des Lombards, a jazz institution in Paris, and then tastefully reshaped and enhanced in post-production. The project\u2019s aim or purpose is twofold. To start, it documents L\u00f3pez-Nussa\u2019s thrilling prowess as a live performer, while also embracing the pristine audio and conceptual ingenuity that\u2019s possible in the studio. For example, a longer live medley including the Cuban standard \u201cEl Manisero\u201d and the original \u201cNew Day\u201d has been split into separate tracks and sequenced apart for programmatic effect \u2014 a touch of Teo Macero. In certain spots throughout the album, theatrical street-life chatter adds festive atmosphere. The project also serves as a chronicle of L\u00f3pez-Nussa\u2019s ever more fulfilling life in France. He\u2019s settled into a teaching position at the conservatory in Toulouse, which has expanded his own understanding of American jazz. His wife found a great job, and his daughters are enjoying school and learning to speak French \u2014 much more successfully than he is, L\u00f3pez-Nussa admits with a laugh. One of his daughters is studying violin, and they\u2019re working on a duet of \u201cNi\u00f1a Con Violin.\u201d<\/p>\n As a performer, the move opened up new pathways of inspiration, including collaborations with French musicians and a newfound appreciation for the music of his homeland. \u201cYou look to Cuba in a different way,\u201d he explains, adding that he no longer takes the history and tradition of Cuban music for granted. And his father visits often. <\/p>\n Single #1 \u201eBonito y Sabroso\u201c<\/p>\n Single #2 “Ni\u00f1a Con Viol\u00edn”<\/p>\n
\nTHE CUBAN-BORN PIANIST\u2019S NEW BLUE NOTE ALBUM OUT SEPT. 5<\/strong>
\nA DEEPLY PERSONAL MUSICAL JOURNEY THAT PRESENTS<\/strong>
\nA DEFINITIVE VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF LATIN JAZZ<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nFor all its overwhelming mastery, however, this album is foremost a journey \u2014 a deeply personal narrative rooted in profound, often painful life changes.
\nNUEVA TIMBA tells the very real story of a man displaced: a young father finding his way in a new country while missing his homeland with heartrending intensity; all the while, he\u2019s nursing other emotional wounds including the passing of his mother, and the compounding torment brings him to a state of despair. Slowly but surely, sunshine begins to poke through the clouds, and he discovers a path forward. Something like happiness returns to the horizon. Consider NUEVA TIMBA musical tears of joy.<\/p>\n
\nBut every time he would return home to Havana after a tour, he\u2019d find his beloved Cuba closer to oblivion. Food scarcity, inflation, continuing crises in energy, healthcare and agriculture: A nation that had been at the onset of a renaissance just a few short years prior was now in dire straits. \u201cIt was difficult to find food, even eggs. I mean, there was no coffee,\u201d he says today, still in disbelief. What\u2019s more, he\u2019d been given a remarkable opportunity to sign with Blue Note Records \u2014 the home of not only his jazz-piano heroes like Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and Herbie Hancock but also Cuban piano titans including Chucho Vald\u00e9s and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. Due to the embargo, however, he couldn\u2019t accept a deal if he remained in Cuba.
\nSo L\u00f3pez-Nussa knew he had to make a change. But to where?<\/p>\n
\nHe recalls a joke he used to make with his mother as a music student: \u201cHey, mom, Sony Music called today and they want to make my album.\u201d He pauses. \u201cAll these years later, it\u2019s not Sony \u2014 it\u2019s Blue Note. Incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nStill, in quiet moments, L\u00f3pez-Nussa can\u2019t help but think about his mother, and yearn for just one more day in her presence. \u201cI want her to meet my daughters,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m missing the most. And I want her to listen to me playing piano today. I think she would be very proud of me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/h1>\n