“True to the defiant spirit of the phrase, Havana-based pianist Harold López-Nussa’s new album explodes and expands contemporary narratives around modern jazz, ingeniously incorporating myriad Afro-Cuban styles.” – DownBeat

“López-Nussa’s arrangement preserves the swirling sense of mystery and longing at the song’s core, but injects it with a healthy dose of groove courtesy of a propulsive piano ostinato, a searing solo by Pierani and some white-hot cajon work from Ruy Adrian López-Nussa.” – Jazziz

Walk the streets of Havana on any day and you’ll hear the soul of Cuba: music pouring from private homes and bustling restaurants, windows rattling with the parties thrown inside, nightclubs pulsing with throngs of people dancing. On his vibrant and spirited third recording for Mack Avenue Records, Havana-based pianist and composer Harold López-Nussa sets out to capture that stirring sensation with an exhilarating marriage of jazz and Cuban pop music, defiantly standing up to the doubters who failed to share his radical vision.

Much like its near equivalent in English, “I told you so,” the Spanish phrase “Te lo dije” can be deployed as a boast or a put-down – often both at once. López-Nussa throws down that gauntlet on Te Lo Dije, available via Mack Avenue Records. The album features the pianist’s core quartet of drummer Ruy Adrián López-Nussa, bassist Julio César González and trumpeter Mayquel González, bolstered by a number of special guests including Afro-Cuban funk superstar Cimafunk; French accordionist Vincent Peirani; famed Cuban reggaeton vocalist Randy Malcom; and vocalist Kelvis Ochoa.

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Harold López-Nussa on TKA

ROLLING STONE:
Elvin Bishop is a legendary guitarist…impeccable and spirited…a distinguished American player.
Charlie Musselwhite, with unabashed excellence, sets the standard for blues harmonica.

Alligator Records is pleased to announce the September 25, 2020 release of 100 Years Of Blues, the first-ever album by Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame guitarist Elvin Bishop and Grammy-winning harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite. 100 Years Of Blues is front-porch, down-home music with Bishop and Musselwhite trading licks and vocals on 12 rootsy, spirited songs, mixing nine originals with three reimagined classics.

The two history-making musicians – both Blues Hall Of Famers – are blues legends with over 100 years of professional musicianship between them. They are among the most famous bluesmen in the world. Although they’ve known each other since the early 1960s and recorded as guests with John Lee Hooker (and other friends), this is the first time that they ever teamed up to make a full record. According to Musselwhite, “This is us sitting down to play the music that we love and resonating together effortlessly because we’re ‘coming from the same place’…on many levels.”

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Elvin Bishop on TKA

During a Zoom conference call with DownBeat, the members of pianist Renee Rosnes’ septet Artemis discussed the creative process behind their eponymous Blue Note debut, their views on inclusivity in jazz and why the group decided to name itself after the Greek goddess of the hunt.​

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ARTEMIS on TKA

Classic-rock songs often turn into cultural signposts for no clear reason — what does this 1969 Blind Faith epic really mean, anyway, with its obtuse lyrics and addictive, endless vamping? The pianist Christian Sands and his trio make the song matter again. Yasushi Nakamura’s exploratory bass line opens the way for Sands’s touch on the keyboard, at first light, then increasingly driven by Clarence Penn’s kicking drum. In their hands, the song is about questing itself: its loneliness and excitement, the determination it requires, the way the final destination ultimately doesn’t matter. Music is the best place to find yourself, getting lost.

— Ann Powers

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Christian Sands on TKA