August 15, 2025
Cuban-born pianist Harold López-Nussa has released his vibrant reimagining of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona’s “Gitanerías,” the latest single from Harold’s upcoming Blue Note Records release NUEVA TIMBA out September 5. The piece is a showcase of Harold’s impressive classical music prowess, performed as a duo accompanied by his brother, drummer Ruy Adrian López-Nussa on flamenco cajón. With NUEVA TIMBA, López-Nussa channels deep Cuban roots through a modern, genre-blending lens—bridging tradition and innovation.
“‘Gitanerías’ was born in 1927 as one of the six pieces in Ernesto Lecuona’s Suite Andalucía,” Harold explains. “Lecuona composed the suite during a tour in Spain, falling in love with the folklore, flamenco, and the vibrant spirit of the southern gypsy culture… so close to the Cuban soul. The flamenco cajón might seem like the obvious choice here, but the way my brother Ruy Adrian Lopez-Nussa plays it makes it truly special for me. ‘Gitanerías’ is my tribute to the great Lecuona.”
NUEVA TIMBA is the second album López-Nussa has recorded for Blue Note following 2023’s 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 reshaped and enhanced in post-production. The project’s musical aim is twofold: documenting López-Nussa’s thrilling prowess as a live performer while also embracing the pristine audio and conceptual ingenuity that’s possible in the studio.
For all its virtuosity and innovation, however, NUEVA TIMBA is foremost a journey—a deeply personal narrative rooted in profound, often painful life changes that reflects López-Nussa’s recent move from Cuba to France. The album 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’s 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.
NUEVA TIMBA is also a celebration of López-Nussa family legacy with the jazz vanguard meeting multiple eras of Cuba’s musical history to present a definitive vision for the future of Latin jazz. The previous single “Niña Con Violín” was written by his uncle, the acclaimed pianist Ernán López-Nussa, while the album cover features a painting by Harold’s grandfather Leonel López-Nussa.
“The memory I keep of my grandfather is of a man working in his studio while listening to music, especially classical music,” recalls Harold. “He would spend the entire day there, surrounded by canvases and brushes. When we went to visit him, we would play ball in the street and, between games, step into the studio to drink some water. It was always extraordinary to cross that threshold: to see his paintings, to feel the smell of fresh paint. His work is full of musicians, women, and characters he admired, all seen through his own eyes and his unique universe. Even now, when I look at his paintings, I can still feel his presence. And I realize, once again, the power that art has to endure beyond time. Having his art on the cover brings me closer to my family, to those childhood memories, and makes me feel accompanied.”
