# Ruy Adrián López-Nussa triumphs in Spanish jazz competition "Tete Montoliu"

**Date:** 04/10/2021

Ruy Adrián López-Nussa wins first prize in Madrid in the competition convened by SGAE for jazz composers "Tete Montoliu". He follows in the footsteps of Alain Pérez and Ernán López Nussa, winners in previous editions.

With a young but meteoric career behind him, Cuban pianist and drummer Ruy Adrián López-Nussa competed in the 'Tete Montoliu' with A Lyle M, an ode to American musician Lyle Mays in which he transposes a choro into the contemporary Brazilian sphere in the arms of samba.

In statements to Prensa Latina, the pianist stated that although he has been composing for many years, this award constitutes "a push to move forward," especially due to the prestige of the competition convened by the General Society of Artists and Writers of Spain.

"The works of the finalists were spectacular. We saw the live broadcast of the pieces performed by an Iberian band and when the jury deliberated I received the news with great joy," he expressed.

The Caribbean nation's percussionist competed alongside pianists Pablo Gutiérrez and Juan Méndez and Uruguayan Fernando Michelin.

The creations of these musicians turned out to be finalists from among 150 compositions admitted by the jury in this fourth edition of the competition founded in 1999 as a tribute to Spanish pianist Vicenç Montoliu i Massana, known as Tete Montoliu.

Institutions such as the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba congratulated the young musician Ruy Adrián López-Nussa, who has already performed on prestigious stages of world jazz, such as the Blue Note in New York and Beijing, the Montreal Festival, the Cotton Club in Tokyo and the Montreaux Festival, in addition to having accompanied on stage artists of the caliber of Omara Portuondo, Miguel Zenon, Carlos Varela and Dave Matthew.