Hailing from Havana, Cuba, celebrated composer and pianist Harold López-Nussa is rapidly becoming a household name in jazz, with a feverish global following. With his brother Ruy Adrían López-Nussa, Harold’s tight-knit groups captivate audiences with a relentless vivaciousness that “bridges generations and genres” (Billboard). López-Nussa’s music reflects the full range and richness of Cuban music, with its distinctive combination of classical, folkloric, and popular elements, as well as its embrace of improvisation and interaction.
In 2005, López-Nussa won First Prize at the Solo Piano Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He has collaborated with Cuban legends such as Leo Brouwer, Chucho Valdés, and Omara Portuondo, and jazz stars like David Sánchez, Christian Scott, Stefon Harris, Grégoire Maret, and Vincent Peirani. In 2018, Harold’s trio was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk. Un Día Cualquiera, his second release for Mack Avenue Records, represents López-Nussa’s musical vantage point with force and innovation. He tells this story — his story — with drama, heartfelt emotion, and consummate skills. The album nods to classic Cuban composers and musicians, but focuses mostly on López-Nussa’s original compositions and his distinctive trio concept. López-Nussa chose the album’s title, which means “Just Another Day,” because, he said, “the idea is to put the music and the trio together in a studio and just play, the way we three do every day, any day — like a concert in your living room.” Within two days of release, Un Día Cualquiera was the most added album on jazz and college radio in the United States. In the past year alone, Harold has performed for sold-out audiences at the Kennedy Center and SFJAZZ, along with some of the best jazz festivals in the world: Newport, North Sea, Monterey, Detroit, and Playboy.
