While Ernán López-Nussa played the first chords in his known piece Momo in the Mella Theater, his nephew Harold was following him in another piano. Also, he was accompanied by Ruy and Ruy Adrian, father and son, both playing the drums, spectacularly.
It was a concert by the López-Nussa family. Harold came up with the idea once. An international jazz festival asked him to introduce a project and he chose perfect musicians. Never before they had had the opportunity to perform in Cuba together, and the closing of the 30th Jazz Plaza gave them the chance, as Ernan said.
They couldn’t leave out the paintings by Ruy and Ernan´s father, located at the end of the scenario which recreated that musicality they both passed as a legacy to Ruy Adrian and Harold.
The fact is that the concept of family is quite ample, said Ruy on Sunday, and includes those loved persons that are always with us¨ he then mentioned Professor Teresita Junco, his wife, his father, and many others who are essential for him to live
The López-Nussa family, accompanied by trumpeter Mayquel Gonzalez, made of the Jazz Plaza closure a remarkable night, which they marked even further with that unique way of playing jazz, infusing it Cuban identity to a genre that has had Cuba in its melodic base.
The fact is that Jazz Plaza has been the main scenario to show the close relation of the Cuban jazz with the most classic parts of a genre born in the heart of Southern America. Precisely that musical mixture was present here this year, with Pancho Amat and his guests at the Cuban Art Factory. He delivered a master class on the genre, the most important of the 2oth century according to scholars.
At the opening of the event, Maestro Bobby Carcasses and a group of musicians showed the Cuban way to express jazz. He opened the jazz with Summertime, by Gershwin, at the Mella Theater. That same night the Camerata Romeu, the Santiago de Cuba Magic Sax quartet and youngsters Rolando Luna, Gastón Joya y Rodney Barreto performed.
An heir of his father´s legacy Arturo O’Farrill, son of Chico, connected us with that Afro-Latin variant of jazz, by using the sounds of the drums and other percussion instruments. O´Farrill also made a singular proposal to join music and dance with his piece 24 hours and a dog, in which he was accompanied by the Afro Latin Jazz and the Mal Paso dancing group.
Two gigantic bands claimed the Mella Friday´s night: Blues Devils Jazz Orchestra and the Jazz Band led by Joaquín Betancourt. To the classic swing of that band coming from Kansas City they added the Creole rhythm, out of the Havana band
And those who wanted to get close to that growing movement of Cuban youngsters who play jazz had on Saturday night the performance of Roberto Fonseca and his musicians.
The Festival, born on February 14, 1980 in the Plaza Culture House has not lost its essence. It keeps the beating of a genre that has in Cuba countless followers and artists.
