| Alune Wade & Harold López–Nussa |
| Paris Havana Dakar |
Alune Wade & Harold López–Nussa — Paris Havana Dakar (May 18, 2015)
Location: Havana, Cuba / ALGERIA, CAPE VERDE, CUBA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, MALI, SENEGAL
Album release: May 18, 2015
Record Label: World Village
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Aminata 4:58
02. Petit Pays 3:57
03. Sago 3:33
04. Guajira 3:12
05. Yarahya 4:46
06. Aye Africa 3:17
07. Salimata 2:58
08. Independance Cha Cha 2:38
09. Nussa Solo 2:05
10. Dom 2:38
11. Seydou 4:45
12. Senegal 3:59
Written by:
♦ Laba Sosseh 1
♦ Nando da Cruz 2
♦ Alune Wade 3, 7, 10
♦ Ruy Adrian, López–Nussa 4
♦ Dahmane El Harrachi 5
♦ Manu Dibango — Franklin Boukaka 6
♦ Joseph Kabaselé 8
♦ Harold López–Nussa 9
♦ Salif Keita 11
♦ Ouza Diallo 12
Personnel:
♦ Alune Wade — bass, vocal
♦ Ruy López–Nussa — piano
♦ Harold López–Nussa — drums, bongos
♦ Herve Samb — guitar
♦ Amen Viena — guitar
♦ Adel Gonzalez — percussion
♦ Reinaldo Melian — trumpet
♦ Sara Tavares — vocal
♦ Choirs of the Orquesta Aragon
© Petra Richterova
≡ Anyone who loves the crossover collaborations not remain insensitive to Havana Paris Dakar, wedding several cultures and rich musical colors of history. Beautiful World Village label reveals the union of a nomad of Senegalese music, Alune Wade, and a Cuban piano prodigy, Harold Lopez–Nussa time of an album. The duo portrayed the African musical landscape through covers of famous songs like Small Country, the success of Cesaria Evora, Sara Tavares, the standard of chaabi Yarahya, Aminata, salsa made in Dakar, or Independence Cha Cha, a tube of years of independence, composed by Joseph Kabaselé.
Reviewed by Banning Eyre
≡ The Senegalese love affair with Cuban music is nothing new. It goes back to at least the 1940s, and reached spectacular fruition in the pan–African sound of Orchestra Baobab in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the revival band Africando starting in the ‘90s. But as Senegalese bassman/vocalist Alune Wade and nimble–fingered Cuban pianist Harold López–Nussa demonstrate on Havana Paris Dakar (World Village, 2015), the formula of fusing Afropop and Afro–Latin sensibilities still has legs.
≡ The opening track “Aminata” delivers what we expect, a snappy Cuban groove with Senegalese–tinged vocals. But then the mix gets more adventurous with a cover of the Cape Verdean classic “Petit Pays” (made famous by Cesaria Evora) rendered beautifully as Wade harmonizes and trades verses with Sara Tavares. Other less–than–obvious covers include Salif Keita’s “Seydou” and the Algerian rai classic “Yarahya,” including the collaboration of Moroccan maestro Aziz Sahmaoui. The Congolese anthem to colonialism’s bitter end, “Independence Cha Cha,” also gets a lively read.
≡ The guiding approach here is urbane and jazzy. The artists respectfully treat these songs as the standards they rightly are. But though the sound is almost too polite, the soloists, including members of Orquesta Aragón, can definitely kick out the stops when they need to, and López–Nussa’s piano chops are superb and tasty throughout. Wade’s silky vocal is clear and precise, and at times reminiscent of Youssou N’Dour’s voice. There’s also real originality and dynamism in the arrangements. Most of all it’s a welcome surprise to find such talented artists exploring the Afropop canon so broadly.
≡ http://www.afropop.org/
© Petra Richterova
Par : Guillaume Schnee
≡ Le bassiste et compositeur sénégalais s'associe au pianiste cubain pour une nouvelle page musicale entre l’Afrique et Cuba à voir en concert le 26 mai au New Morning à Paris.
≡ Comme ses compatriotes Alfredo Rodriguez, Roberto Fonseca ou Omar Sosa; le jazzman Harold López–Nussa est fidèle à la grande école du piano cubain et s'attache dans son jeu à rendre hommage aux racines africaines de la musique de l'île. Après "El país de las maravillas" en 2011 et "New Day" en 2013, le pianiste sort l'album "Havana–Paris–Dakar" le 19 mai avec l'artiste sénégalais Alune Wade.
≡ Bassiste, chanteur et compositeur, Alune Wade fut successivement bassiste d'Ismaël Lô, d'Oumou Sangaré, de Josef Zawinul, du groupe Deep Forest et plus récemment de Marcus Miller pour son projet "Afrodeezia". Auteur de deux albums solo "Mbolo" en 2006 et "Ayo Nene" en 2011, l'artiste installé à Paris, a rencontré le pianiste cubain dans un club de jazz allemand en avril 2012. Une complicité naturelle qui a abouti à ce projet de recréér des standards de la bande son de l’Afrique ; de reprendre et d’arranger certains titres au son latin ou d'y mettre un brin de cubanité, avec en fil rouge le rythme de la rumba.
≡ Les rythmes sont solaires, les mélodies pulsent au fil des morceaux qui passent par le cha–cha–cha, la rumba, la salsa et même le chaâbi. Douze titres, enregistrés au studio Abdala à La Havane, dont plusieurs titres originaux et les reprises du "Ayé Africa" de Manu Dibango, "Yarahya" le standard du chaâbi, "Petit Pays", l’un des succès de Cesaria Evora chanté ici par Sara Tavares, "Indépendance Cha Cha" de Joseph Kabasele ou "Aminata" l’un des hauts faits de Labah Sosseh qui fut l’un des grands vocalistes de la salsa made in Dakar. Un pur bonheur ! ≡ http://www.fipradio.fr/
Label: http://www.worldvillagemusic.com/
≡ Harold was born into a family of musicians in Cuba: he is the nephew of the famous pianist Ernan López–Nussa and the son of the drummer Ruy López–Nussa. Like all the members of his family, this twenty–four year old pianist benefited from a double upbringing, Cuban and French (through his grandmother). During the early
stages of his young career, Harold won many classical piano contests, before starting a solo career and appearing in Cuban theatres. He quickly absorbed various influences — from classical and jazz to pop music — and started performing with some of the best Cuban musicians. One of Harold's first international breakthroughs was when he became a laureate of the renowned Montreux Jazz Piano competition (2005). Harold was then offered a grant by the Festival to record his first album, Sobre et Atelier. This award and first album raised his international profile and he rapidly became a regular fixture at famous jazz clubs and festivals across the globe.
2009's Herencia (World Village), which featured a guest appearance by Omara Portuondo, was recorded as a trio with doublebass player Felipe Cabrera and his younger brother Ruy Adrian López–Nussa, a drum prodigy.
Songlines Magazine called it a "striking display of talent and creativity" and it was a Disc of the Day in the Montreal Gazette. On his 2011 World Village album, El País de las Maravillas (or "Wonderland"), renowned saxophonist David Sánchez joins the trio, and López–Nussa asserts himself as a stylish composer and a powerful pianist, merging technical ability with a high sensitivity.
Website: http://haroldlopeznussa.com/
_____________________________________________________________
| Alune Wade & Harold López–Nussa |
| Paris Havana Dakar |
Location: Havana, Cuba / ALGERIA, CAPE VERDE, CUBA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, MALI, SENEGAL
Album release: May 18, 2015
Record Label: World Village
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Aminata 4:58
02. Petit Pays 3:57
03. Sago 3:33
04. Guajira 3:12
05. Yarahya 4:46
06. Aye Africa 3:17
07. Salimata 2:58
08. Independance Cha Cha 2:38
09. Nussa Solo 2:05
10. Dom 2:38
11. Seydou 4:45
12. Senegal 3:59
Written by:
♦ Laba Sosseh 1
♦ Nando da Cruz 2
♦ Alune Wade 3, 7, 10
♦ Ruy Adrian, López–Nussa 4
♦ Dahmane El Harrachi 5
♦ Manu Dibango — Franklin Boukaka 6
♦ Joseph Kabaselé 8
♦ Harold López–Nussa 9
♦ Salif Keita 11
♦ Ouza Diallo 12
Personnel:
♦ Alune Wade — bass, vocal
♦ Ruy López–Nussa — piano
♦ Harold López–Nussa — drums, bongos
♦ Herve Samb — guitar
♦ Amen Viena — guitar
♦ Adel Gonzalez — percussion
♦ Reinaldo Melian — trumpet
♦ Sara Tavares — vocal
♦ Choirs of the Orquesta Aragon
≡ Anyone who loves the crossover collaborations not remain insensitive to Havana Paris Dakar, wedding several cultures and rich musical colors of history. Beautiful World Village label reveals the union of a nomad of Senegalese music, Alune Wade, and a Cuban piano prodigy, Harold Lopez–Nussa time of an album. The duo portrayed the African musical landscape through covers of famous songs like Small Country, the success of Cesaria Evora, Sara Tavares, the standard of chaabi Yarahya, Aminata, salsa made in Dakar, or Independence Cha Cha, a tube of years of independence, composed by Joseph Kabaselé.
Reviewed by Banning Eyre
≡ The Senegalese love affair with Cuban music is nothing new. It goes back to at least the 1940s, and reached spectacular fruition in the pan–African sound of Orchestra Baobab in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the revival band Africando starting in the ‘90s. But as Senegalese bassman/vocalist Alune Wade and nimble–fingered Cuban pianist Harold López–Nussa demonstrate on Havana Paris Dakar (World Village, 2015), the formula of fusing Afropop and Afro–Latin sensibilities still has legs.
≡ The opening track “Aminata” delivers what we expect, a snappy Cuban groove with Senegalese–tinged vocals. But then the mix gets more adventurous with a cover of the Cape Verdean classic “Petit Pays” (made famous by Cesaria Evora) rendered beautifully as Wade harmonizes and trades verses with Sara Tavares. Other less–than–obvious covers include Salif Keita’s “Seydou” and the Algerian rai classic “Yarahya,” including the collaboration of Moroccan maestro Aziz Sahmaoui. The Congolese anthem to colonialism’s bitter end, “Independence Cha Cha,” also gets a lively read.
≡ The guiding approach here is urbane and jazzy. The artists respectfully treat these songs as the standards they rightly are. But though the sound is almost too polite, the soloists, including members of Orquesta Aragón, can definitely kick out the stops when they need to, and López–Nussa’s piano chops are superb and tasty throughout. Wade’s silky vocal is clear and precise, and at times reminiscent of Youssou N’Dour’s voice. There’s also real originality and dynamism in the arrangements. Most of all it’s a welcome surprise to find such talented artists exploring the Afropop canon so broadly.
≡ http://www.afropop.org/
Par : Guillaume Schnee
≡ Le bassiste et compositeur sénégalais s'associe au pianiste cubain pour une nouvelle page musicale entre l’Afrique et Cuba à voir en concert le 26 mai au New Morning à Paris.
≡ Comme ses compatriotes Alfredo Rodriguez, Roberto Fonseca ou Omar Sosa; le jazzman Harold López–Nussa est fidèle à la grande école du piano cubain et s'attache dans son jeu à rendre hommage aux racines africaines de la musique de l'île. Après "El país de las maravillas" en 2011 et "New Day" en 2013, le pianiste sort l'album "Havana–Paris–Dakar" le 19 mai avec l'artiste sénégalais Alune Wade.
≡ Bassiste, chanteur et compositeur, Alune Wade fut successivement bassiste d'Ismaël Lô, d'Oumou Sangaré, de Josef Zawinul, du groupe Deep Forest et plus récemment de Marcus Miller pour son projet "Afrodeezia". Auteur de deux albums solo "Mbolo" en 2006 et "Ayo Nene" en 2011, l'artiste installé à Paris, a rencontré le pianiste cubain dans un club de jazz allemand en avril 2012. Une complicité naturelle qui a abouti à ce projet de recréér des standards de la bande son de l’Afrique ; de reprendre et d’arranger certains titres au son latin ou d'y mettre un brin de cubanité, avec en fil rouge le rythme de la rumba.
≡ Les rythmes sont solaires, les mélodies pulsent au fil des morceaux qui passent par le cha–cha–cha, la rumba, la salsa et même le chaâbi. Douze titres, enregistrés au studio Abdala à La Havane, dont plusieurs titres originaux et les reprises du "Ayé Africa" de Manu Dibango, "Yarahya" le standard du chaâbi, "Petit Pays", l’un des succès de Cesaria Evora chanté ici par Sara Tavares, "Indépendance Cha Cha" de Joseph Kabasele ou "Aminata" l’un des hauts faits de Labah Sosseh qui fut l’un des grands vocalistes de la salsa made in Dakar. Un pur bonheur ! ≡ http://www.fipradio.fr/
Label: http://www.worldvillagemusic.com/
≡ Harold was born into a family of musicians in Cuba: he is the nephew of the famous pianist Ernan López–Nussa and the son of the drummer Ruy López–Nussa. Like all the members of his family, this twenty–four year old pianist benefited from a double upbringing, Cuban and French (through his grandmother). During the early
stages of his young career, Harold won many classical piano contests, before starting a solo career and appearing in Cuban theatres. He quickly absorbed various influences — from classical and jazz to pop music — and started performing with some of the best Cuban musicians. One of Harold's first international breakthroughs was when he became a laureate of the renowned Montreux Jazz Piano competition (2005). Harold was then offered a grant by the Festival to record his first album, Sobre et Atelier. This award and first album raised his international profile and he rapidly became a regular fixture at famous jazz clubs and festivals across the globe.
2009's Herencia (World Village), which featured a guest appearance by Omara Portuondo, was recorded as a trio with doublebass player Felipe Cabrera and his younger brother Ruy Adrian López–Nussa, a drum prodigy.
Songlines Magazine called it a "striking display of talent and creativity" and it was a Disc of the Day in the Montreal Gazette. On his 2011 World Village album, El País de las Maravillas (or "Wonderland"), renowned saxophonist David Sánchez joins the trio, and López–Nussa asserts himself as a stylish composer and a powerful pianist, merging technical ability with a high sensitivity.
Website: http://haroldlopeznussa.com/