After more than four decades onstage, Aymée Nuviola knows how to make a room her own. The GRAMMY winner and multiple Latin GRAMMY winner has carried Cuban music across stages around the world, building a career that remains unmistakably hers. Her latest release brings that journey to London and to one of jazz’s most celebrated rooms, and it is clear she made that room her own.
Aymée Nuviola feat. Kemuel Roig Live at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club captures Nuviola’s July 4 and 5, 2025, performances at the legendary Soho venue. Leading her own band, with Cuban pianist Kemuel Roig as a special guest, Nuviola turns two summer nights into a nine-track live album shaped by the energy she and the band brought to the stage.
© Aymée NuviolaAymée Nuviola performs with the confidence of an artist whose career has crossed generations, genres and borders.
The setting gives the release added weight. Since opening in 1959, Ronnie Scott’s has welcomed generations of artists who helped shape jazz and popular music. Its history includes some of the most important female voices of their eras. Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan and Nina Simone are part of the club’s celebrated recording tradition. Amy Winehouse would later take the stage there as well. Now, Nuviola brings her own name, band and Cuban sound into that story.
© Getty ImagesElla Fitzgerald performs at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London on April 2, 1974, joined by legendary jazz guitarist Joe Pass.
A Cuban Voice at Ronnie Scott’s
There is another reason these performances stand out, and this one could earn Nuviola a place in Ronnie Scott’s history.
No equivalent recording has been identified to date, making Aymée Nuviola Feat. Kemuel Roig Live at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club is likely the first: a live recording led by a Cuban female solo artist at the legendary venue and released worldwide across major digital platforms.
© Aymée NuviolaAymée Nuviola commands the stage with the voice and presence that have defined her decades-long career.
The distinction matters. Cuban artists have recorded at Ronnie Scott’s before, and Cuban women have performed there. But the circumstances were different.
Mayra Caridad Valdés recorded at the club as a vocalist with Irakere, with the project credited to the group rather than to her as a solo artist. Yusa later headlined Yusa Live at Ronnie Scott’s, a performance documented primarily as a filmed concert.
Nuviola’s story is different. She arrives as the principal artist, leading her own band and performing her own repertoire. The resulting live album carries her name and is released internationally as her project.
© RedfernsRonnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London’s Soho has been a landmark of the international jazz scene since opening its doors in 1959, welcoming generations of influential artists to its storied stage.
Ronnie Scott’s does not have a complete public archive of every recording made at the club, so it is difficult to call Nuviola’s album an absolute first. But that does not make the achievement any less significant.
A Cuban woman took the stage at one of jazz’s most celebrated clubs, leading her own band, recorded those nights under her own name, and now carries that music to audiences around the world. For Aymée Nuviola, it is a milestone in a career already filled with them.
The Band Takes the Stage
Nuviola is joined by Yorgis Goiricelaya on bass, Juan A. Díaz on drums, José “Majito” Aguilera on percussion, Julián Ávila on guitar, Yunior Arronte on saxophone, and Dayhan Díaz on trumpet. Kemuel Roig joins the ensemble on piano as a special guest.
Cuban singer, pianist and songwriter Aymée Nuviola is one of the distinctive voices of contemporary Latin music.This is a record born onstage. Rather than chasing the polish of a studio session, the album captures the spontaneity of musicians playing together in the moment. It is a setting that suits Nuviola, whose sound is deeply rooted in Cuban music but always leaves room for improvisation. At Ronnie Scott’s, she does not change that sound to fit the room. She brings the room into her world.
Nine Songs From London
The album moves through nine performances:
“Bonche”
“Paco”
“Obsesión”
“Salsa Con Timba”
“Quédate”
“Perfidia”
“Se Bailaba Esto”
“Taxista”
“Ese Atrevimiento”
© Aymée NuviolaCover artwork for Aymée Nuviola Feat. Kemuel Roig Live at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.
“Bonche” gets things started, setting the energy for what follows. Then there is “Salsa Con Timba,” a title that tells you exactly where Nuviola is coming from. Cuban rhythm is never far away.
Songs like “Obsesión” and “Perfidia” bring another flavor to the set. These are classics that have been sung and reimagined for generations, and here Nuviola gets to make them her own.
Across the nine tracks, the band moves easily between Cuban music and jazz, never sounding like it has to choose between the two. That freedom is part of what makes the live setting work so well. The music can move, stretch and change direction, and Nuviola is right at the center of it.
A Record With a Longer Memory
The album also features liner notes by Ted Panken, the veteran American jazz journalist and critic whose work has appeared in DownBeat, JazzTimes and JAZZIZ. Panken helps put these two nights into perspective, connecting Nuviola’s performance to the long history of music recorded at Ronnie Scott’s.
© Aymée NuviolaAymée Nuviola stands among the Cuban artists who have brought the island’s music to audiences around the world.
At this point in her career, Nuviola hardly needs another album to prove she has arrived. The awards are already there. So are more than four decades onstage.
What Aymée Nuviola Feat. Kemuel Roig Live at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club captures is an artist in full command of what she has built. Nuviola steps into one of jazz’s most storied rooms as a force in her own right, bringing with her the Cuban sound she has spent a lifetime making unmistakably her own.
Ronnie Scott’s has a formidable history. Aymée Nuviola does, too. And for two nights in London, they shared the same stage.