Harold López-Nussa's Nueva Timba Wins the 2026 Edison Jazz Global Award

Cuban pianist Harold López-Nussa has won the 2026 Edison in the Jazz Global category for Nueva Timba, released on Blue Note Records. The Dutch broadcaster Concertzender announced the result on Friday, Oct. 23, the fifth of six daily Edison Jazz category announcements this week.

In highlights from its report published by Concertzender in Dutch (quotations below are JazzLib translations), the jury called López-Nussa "one of the leading innovators in contemporary Latin jazz" and described his enthusiasm, energy and technical ingenuity as "astonishing." The jury said the album, which it identified as a live record released on Sept. 5, 2025, combines the rich traditions of Cuban music with a contemporary jazz sound, and called the result "an infectious album full of ultimate Latin jazz." The other nominees in the category were Nawras Altaky's Arise! and Tinariwen's Hoggar.

According to Blue Note, Nueva Timba is López-Nussa's second album for the label, following Timba a la Americana in 2023. The label describes it as a live/studio hybrid: it was captured at the Paris jazz club Le Duc des Lombards and then reshaped and enhanced in post-production. The core band features the pianist's brother, Ruy Adrián López-Nussa, on drums, Luques Curtis on bass and harmonica player Grégoire Maret. Beatmaker José Angel Blanco, known as El Negro WADPRO, adds electronics on "Bonito y Sabroso," which condenses the sound of Benny Moré's big band into a small-group arrangement.

Blue Note's album notes also point to "Niña Con Violín," written by the pianist's uncle, pianist Ernán López-Nussa, and an arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona's "Gitanerías." The label frames the record as a personal story of displacement: a young father finding his way in a new country while missing his homeland and coping with the death of his mother.

The Edison Jazz winners have been revealed one category per day by Concertzender and WorldofJazz. Earlier this week, the Nu Art Orchestra won Jazz National for The Tivoli Sessions #1, Craig Taborn's Dream Archives won Jazz International, the Idema / Serierse Quartet took Jazz National Vocal for Serenade in Blue, and Kenny Barron's Songbook won Jazz International Vocal. Concertzender says the last category, Newcomer, will be announced on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11:00 a.m. Dutch time. The nominees listed by the Edison organization are Aseo Friesacher, Daan Kluwer and Fee Aaij.

According to the Edison organization, this year's jazz jury is chaired by Frank Bolder and includes Mischa Andriessen, Marieke Meischke, Sakti Kehdoe and Martine van Zelst. All nominated albums were released between April 1, 2025, and April 1, 2026, and the bronze statuettes by sculptor Pieter d'Hont will be presented on Oct. 25.

For López-Nussa, the award adds a European jury's endorsement to an album that the label itself pitched as a vision for the future of Latin jazz, built on several eras of Cuban music at once.