Nueva Timba

López-Nussa is a Cuban pianist (lately living in Toulouse) who draws from both Latin jazz and his native folkloric sounds. Now an established figure, although still younger than might be imagined for a player with such an ongoing presence on the international scene, he has just released his second album for Blue Note, Nueva Timba. It was mostly recorded live at the famed Parisian jazz club, Le Duc De Lombards, although this doesn’t mean that it’s roughly hewn, boisterous or electrified with audience-energy feedback. Quite the opposite, in fact. It’s doubtless one of the most sedate live albums we’ll hear all year. The melodies are chirpy and light and the tracks mostly quite short, allowing a varied set of tunes to flow past. Unfortunately, the band sounds like it’s going through the motions, playing with slickness, but little excitement. López-Nussa sometimes introduces spirals of mild electronic effects, and there are fleeting group vocal choruses, but mostly it’s just the core foursome playing their usual instrumental roles. The most appealing element is the prominent positioning of Grégoire Maret’s harmonica, oddly adopting a similar role to that of Mickey Raphael in Willie Nelson’s band.