There’s a lot of live music to dig into for November, including a recent discovery who is helping to redefine Latin jazz.
The Cuban expatriate pianist and composer Harold Lopez-Nussa has just released his first album after leaving the country of his birth, and “Timba A La Americana” (Blue Note) is genuinely invigorating. Lopez-Nussa, who will bring his quartet to the new Dazzle location on Nov. 18, is simultaneously flashy and purposeful in his playing.
His performances on this disc absolutely pay homage to the Latin jazz masters who appeared before him, but the production (from Snarky Puppy’s Michael League) has contemporary flourishes and touches of electronic sounds to remind us this was conceived in the 2020s. More often than not, the results on “Timba” point in the direction of an accessible brand of fusion.
As accomplished as Lopez-Nusa is on piano, he’s matched effortlessly by harmonicist Gregoire Maret, who’s capable of moments of excitement on an instrument that’s been underutilized lately. Maret is also a member of Lopez-Nusa’s touring band, so he’ll be showing off his considerable chops at Dazzle.
These are some exciting sounds, and it should be revelatory to experience Lopez-Nussa’s quartet in a live setting, where the artists can stretch out beyond the shortish tracks on “Timba.” This could be one of those “I saw them when” nights in Colorado live jazz. Lopez-Nussa plays two shows at Dazzle on the 18th, at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Dazzle is at 1080 14th St.; get tickets at dazzledenver.com.
RECORD STORE BLACK Friday doesn’t generate as much publicity as Record Store Day in the spring, but there are a lot of unique vinyl titles to snap up at independent retailers on Nov. 24. Good luck to jazz fans hoping to grab a copy of limited releases from Chet Baker, Marion Brown and Leo Smith, Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, Ahmad Jamal, Les McCann, Charles Mingus, Wes Montgomery, Oscar Peterson and Cal Tjader.
The Jamal title, “Emerald City Nights Live At The Penthouse 1966-68” (Jazz Detective) is an especially poignant release. Poignant because pianist Jamal died this year at 92. He was a lifelong champion of some of the most mesmerizing piano-based music ever committed to disc. “Emerald” is the third part of a trilogy of long-lost club recordings made in Seattle. All three releases are essential Jamal: The sets represent the epitome of cerebral swing.
This final installment features winning takes on standards running the gamut from Erroll Garner to Burt Bacharach and Hal David. I’m sorry there won’t be any more music from Jamal released from this particular setting, but grateful that it was discovered and released. If you’re not familiar with his incredible body of work, you’re missing out.
MORE JAZZ THIS month: Bela Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer team up with Rakesh Chaurasia for a promising night at the Boulder Theater on Nov. 8. … The excellent local singer Louisa Amend and Eric Gunnison will honor vocalist Carmen McRae every Friday in November at Nocturne. … Smooth saxophonist Marion Meadows appears at the Soiled Dove Underground on Nov. 10. … Organist Ronnie Foster, whose career extends back half a century, recently released the energetic “Reboot” album. He’ll play Dazzle on Nov. 15-16. … The unique vocalist Jose James takes to the Dazzle stage to interpret the music of Erykah Badu on Nov. 17.
Bret Saunders (bretsaunders@kbco.com) can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekday mornings at KBCO 97.3 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @Bretontheradio
