Nuna is a book of compositions for solo piano by Cuban-American pianist and composer David Virelles, who has collaborated with musicians as distinct as Henry Threadgill, Mark Turner, Paul Motian, Andrew Cyrille, Bill Frisell, Chris Potter, Tomasz Stanko, Steve Coleman, Wadada Leo Smith, Tom Harrell, Hermeto Pascoal, Milford Graves, and Ravi Coltrane. His 2012 release Continuum was named the best jazz release of that year by The New York Times and Igbo Alakorin: The Singers Grove was voted top Latin Jazz album in the 2017 NPR Jazz Critics Poll. The compositions on 'Nuna' are inspired by the various tributaries of African-diasporic music: jazz, Cuban music, African keyboard traditions, and European piano practices, all filtered through a modernist harmonic lens. Virelles's goal is to explore the full dynamic range of the piano, both technically and sonically with particular emphasis on connecting the sound of folkloric keyboard instruments such as thumb pianos, harps and drums with the concert grand piano, which he achieves purely through touch and pedaling. The album is also a tribute to three of Virelles's most prominent piano mentors who have passed away in recent years: Muhal Richard Abrams, Stanley Cowell, and Barry Harris. As with all of Virelles's projects, Nuna bridges the ancient with the modern, enveloping the listener in a meditative aura of mystery.
