Harold López Nussa Nueva Timba

On NUEVA TIMBA, the new Blue Note album from the Cuban-born pianist Harold López-Nussa, the jazz vanguard meets multiple eras of Cuba’s musical history with results that are at once accessible, life-affirming and strikingly accomplished. Featuring a core of unmatched talent — Harold’s brother, Ruy Adrian López-Nussa, on drums; Luques Curtis on bass; and the harmonica virtuoso Grégoire Maret — it presents a definitive vision for the future of Latin jazz. López-Nussa condenses the power of Benny Moré’s big band on “Bonito y Sabroso,” adding modern, psychedelic hues; offers a master class in classical virtuosity with an arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona’s “Gitanerias”; and highlights his family’s musical dynasty with a sublime rendition of “Niña Con Violin,” a piece written by his uncle, the acclaimed pianist Ernán López-Nussa.