Pianist Harold López-Nussa Releases New Single “Tumba La Timba”

Harold López-Nussa Releases New Single
“Tumba La Timba”

Forthcoming Blue Note Records Debut
Timba A La Americana out Aug. 25

July 14, 2023: Today pianist and composer Harold López-Nussa released his new single “Tumba la Timba,” taken from his Blue Note Records debut album Timba a la Americana, out August 25th. The vibrant full-length is teeming with joy and pathos that 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 dynamic new original compositions performed by a tight-knit band featuring harmonica virtuoso Grégoire Maret, Luques Curtis on bass, Bárbaro “Machito” Crespo on congas, and Harold’s brother Ruy Adrián López-Nussa on drums.

“‘Tumba la Timba’ is a provocation,” says Harold. “We are playing a fast Rumba while adding some crazy sounds with the Rhodes and percussion. It feels like a deep discussion at an underground Rumba party, but also like a kind of Conga going down in the streets of Havana with some tourists. The tumbadoras [conga] are very important on this track.”

López-Nussa has been building a global following over the past two decades since winning the prestigious Montreux Jazz Piano Competition in 2005. He has captivated audiences across the world with his thrilling performances, released nine acclaimed albums as a leader, and was featured as part of the 2011 all-star project Ninety Miles with Stefon Harris, David Sanchez, and Christian Scott. Born into a musical family in Havana, his music reflects the full range and richness of the Cuban musical tradition with its distinctive combination of folkloric, popular, and classical elements, as well as its embrace of improvisation.

On Timba a la Americana, López-Nussa felt a strong urge to escape the conventional thinking about song form and structure that’s defined Latin jazz since the 1950s. In collaboration with League, the bassist and founder of Snarky Puppy, the two sought new settings for the clave patterns that are the heartbeat of Cuban music. They grabbed elements of danzon, the foundational dance that began in Matanzas in the late 1800s, and the stately son tumbao riffs that frame the songs of Beny More and so many others. They worked with ancient bata drum rhythms used to summon the deities, then incorporated them into the choppy polyrhythmic agitations of modern improvising collectives. They linked the catcalling mambos of Dizzy Gillespie and Machito to modern ideas about song structure.

The result is López-Nussa’s most expansive and ambitious work to date, a provocative, lavishly colorful song cycle that amounts to a top-to-bottom modernization of Latin jazz. Cuba provides the anchoring point of origin; from there López-Nussa and his band volley ideas in a spirit of cosmopolitan modernity that transcends regions and genres and eras.

Photo Credit: Frank Siemer

2023 Tour Dates:
JUL 15 – Gent, Belgium – Gent Jazz Festival
JUL 21 – Munich, Germany – Jazzclub Unterfahrt
JUL 22 – Stuttgart, Germany – Jazz Open Stuttgart
JUL 27 – San Diego, CA – Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
JUL 28 – San Francisco, CA – SFJAZZ Center
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 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
OCT 16 – Châlons-en-Champagne, France – La Comète
OCT 19 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Villanos Club
OCT 20 – Ciudad Real, Spain – Universijazz
OCT 21 – Harelbeke, Belgium – Jazzontspooring
NOV 4 – Boston, MA – City Winery Boston
NOV 6 – New York, NY – Blue Note Jazz Club
NOV 9 – Bethesda, MD – AMP by Strathmore
NOV 11 – Cape May, NJ – Exit Zero Jazz Festival
NOV 15 – Minneapolis, MN – The Cultural Center
NOV 16 – St Louis, MO – City Winery St. Louis
NOV 29 – Berkeley, CA – Freight & Salvage
NOV 30 – Santa Cruz, CA – Kuumbwa Jazz Center