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
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