[Cover photo credit to Frank Siemer]
Pianist and composer Harold López-Nussa has released his new single “Hope,” taken from his Blue Note Records debut album Timba a la Americana, out August 25th, 2023. The album was inspired by the pianist’s recent decision to leave his Cuban homeland and begin a new life in France.
Produced by Michael League (Snarky Puppy), Timba a la Americana presents 10 original compositions performed by harmonica player Grégoire Maret, Luques Curtis on bass, Bárbaro “Machito” Crespo on congas, and Harold’s brother Ruy Adrián López-Nussa on drums.
López-Nussa says:
I composed this track in Havana while I was still living in Cuba, during the lockdown from Covid. The lockdown in Cuba was really long, almost 1 year, and I was getting depressed without live music. I found this hope playing this groove over and over, and I later created the melody on top, just having fun with the section. Playing this tune always brings me some happiness and I really hope that other people can feel the same way.
López-Nussa won the prestigious Montreux Jazz Piano Competition in 2005 and has been building a following since. Born into a musical family in Havana, his music reflects Cuban musical tradition with its combination of “folkloric, popular, and classical elements, as well as its embrace of improvisation.”
For this album, Cuba provided “the anchoring point of origin” and from there López-Nussa and his band embrace “a spirit of cosmopolitan modernity that transcends regions and genres and eras.”
2023 Tour Dates:
AUG 5 – North Truro, MA – Payomet Performing Arts Center
AUG 11 – Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic – Piaristické námestí
AUG 28 – Warsaw, Poland – Old Town Festival
SEP 2 – Nantes, France – Rendez-Vous de l’Erdre
SEP 6 – Mannheim, Germany – Alte Feuerwache-Halle
SEP 7 – Paris, France – Philharmonie de Paris
SEP 8 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – LantarenVenster
SEP 10 – St-Luc, Switzerland – Jazz sous les étoiles
SEP 28-29 – Minato, Japan – Blue Note Tokyo
OCT 19 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Villanos Club
OCT 21 – Harelbeke, Belgium – Jazzontspooring
NOV 4 – Boston, MA – City Winery Boston
NOV 5 – Rockport, MA – Shalin Liu Performance Center
NOV 6 – New York, NY – Blue Note Jazz Club
NOV 9 – Bethesda, MD – AMP by Strathmore
NOV 10 – Philadelphia, PA – Chris’ Jazz Cafe
NOV 11 – Cape May, NJ – Exit Zero Jazz Festival
NOV 15 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cultural Center
NOV 18 – Denver, CO – Dazzle @ The Arts Complex
NOV 29 – Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage
NOV 30 – Santa Cruz, CA – Kuumbwa Jazz Center
DEC 1 – Portland, OR – The Jack London Revue
