Timba a la Americana

by Harold Lopez Nussa

Overview

The release of Timba a la Americana marks several important firsts for Cuban-born pianist/composer Harold Lopez-Nussa. For starters, it's his Blue Note leader debut. Second, it is his first album since emigrating from his homeland to southern France. It marks his freshman collaboration with producer -- and Snarky Puppy bassist/founder -- Michael League and his first to include electric instruments and keyboards. The latter cannot be overstated; League provided Lopez-Nussa with the freedom to experiment with forms, instruments, rhythms, and genres. The pianist strongly desired to abandon conventional wisdom and unofficial "rules" about Latin jazz that have existed since the 1950s. Their methodology for doing so started at the beginning: They sought new settings and patterns for claves, the rhythm sticks that offer Cuban music's heartbeat. The band on the session includes harmonicist Gregoire Maret, brother Ruy Adrian Lopez-Nussa on drums, bassist Luques Curtis, and percussionist Barbaro "Machito" Crespo. Set opener "Funky" is a hard-driving Latin jazz dance track. The interlocking montuno runs and percussion groove percolate as Maret's chromatic harmonica delivers an elegant melody that's equal parts Havana and Paris. Drums and percussion engage the pianist in his fleet, lyric solo. The architecture is filled out when he adds an electric Fender Rhodes piano to back his acoustic instrument and League plays two different synths. "Cake a la Moda" commences with the vocal chant of "mambo" as a stately version of the dance. Maret plays graceful bolero melodies on chromatic and bass harmonicas, while the pianist adds Rhodes in both harmonic and rhythmic capacities, and League helms a pulsing ARP synth as percussionists work a drum kit and congas. The balladic first half is elegant and graceful, while the latter half's polyrhythms are tricky, but Curtis is a solid anchor, interpreting rhythm and harmony for his bandmates. Further, Lopez-Nussa's seamless solo and meaty comps evoke the spirit, vision, and technical dexterity of Joe Zawinul in his solo. League's "Rat-A-Tat" joins descarga and timba to post-bop and even prog-rock, offering listeners a muscular workout from the sextet. The producer also composed the proceeding "Conga a la Americana," which weaves imaginatively polyrhythmic salsa through Latinized hard bop and modern creative jazz. "Tumba la Timba" furiously telegraphs staccato piano notes in the intro before evolving into an uptempo Latin groover with wonderfully knotty yet seamless soloing from Maret, while League adds Moog and Mellotron, framing the percussionists. "Terra Mia" was composed by his pianist father, Ernan Lopez-Nussa, and offers smoking, chanted chorus vocals from the pianist and his sibling, League, and Crespo, who employs four percussion instruments, including shekere. Lopez-Nussa's "Hope" closes the set on an astonishing note as he weaves together gospel, New Orleans R&B, timba, and cha-cha in joyous piano vamps as Maret and the percussionists flow around him. Timba a la Americana is Lopez-Nussa's tenth album and arguably his very best. It offers depth, heady creative ambition and multiple musical dimensions. It is at once forward-thinking and resonant -- culturally, emotionally, and historically. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	08/25/2023
Label:	Blue Note
UPC:	0602448875334

Tracks

1. Funky
2. Cake a la Moda
3. Mal du Pays
4. Rat-a-Tat
5. Conga a la Americana
6. Afro en Toulouse
7. Tumba la Timba
8. Mamá
9. Tierra Mía
10. Hope

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Harold Lopez-Nussa   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals,Fender Rhodes
Gregoire Maret   Chroma,Bass Harmonica,Chromatic Harmonica
Luques Curtis   Bass (Acoustic)
Ruy Adrian Lopez-Nussa   Bombo,Vocals,Handclapping
Michael League   Vocals,Arp Omni,Mellotron,Mini Moog,Handclapping,Moog Synthesizer,Prophet Synthesizer
Barbaro Y. Crespo "Machito"   Bata,Bombo,Claves,Congas,Vocals,Campana,Shekere,Handclapping

Technical Credits

Gregoire Maret   Arranger
Ernan Lopez-Nussa   Composer
Dave McNair   Mastering
Nic Hard   Mixing
Harold Lopez-Nussa   Arranger,Composer,Liner Notes
Boris Beziat   Assistant Engineer
Michael League   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Paulo Vitale   Photography