"[Julián] has developed a remarkably mature theoretical and practical artistic ethos. An accomplished Dominican-American pianist based in [Chicago], he belongs to a generation of Dominicans in the diaspora who extend the nation’s musical traditions beyond its geographic boundaries with originality and disciplined artistry"
Plenamar Magazine
PRESS CONTACT
performance@julianpujolsquall.com
312 320 7290
QUISQUEYA (Mamey – Debut Album)
Release date: June 27, 2026
Independent Release (Pathways to Jazz–supported)
Dominican-American pianist, composer, and South Arts Jazz Road awardee Julián Pujols Quall announces the release of Quisqueya, the debut album by their ensemble Mamey. Conceived as both a musical statement and a cultural proposition, the album introduces a project that becomes a living cultural laboratory, reimagining the shared sonic heritage of the Dominican Republic and Haiti through contemporary composition, improvisation, and experimental practice.
Where Quisqueya begins is not with a fixed identity, but with a question: what becomes possible when the island of Hispaniola is heard as a site of relation rather than division? The eight tracks in the album, which include songs in Spanish and Haitian Creole, unfold as a layered meditation on that question, drawing from Dominican and Haitian traditions such as Bamboulá, Sarandunga de Baní, Salve, Gagá, and Kompa. These folkloric forms are transformed through improvisational frameworks rooted in jazz’s evolution from community-based musical languages.
“My compositional work in Mamey often returns to formative memories, like sharing time with my grandfather in his beloved campo of Lomas Lindas, where he taught me about moriviví plants and the joy of sledding on yaguas, the dry palm sheathes we found on the ground, or the sound of a bohío-shaped merengue music box that sat in my bedroom as its Cosquillita melody slowed and faded, lulling me to sleep”, explains Julián.
Recorded across multiple cities—including Chicago, New York, Baltimore, and the Dominican Republic—the album brings together an intergenerational and transnational collective of musicians. The core ensemble features Julián Pujols Quall (artistic direction, piano, keyboard, voice, composition), Micah Collier (bass), Jonathan Suazo (alto saxophone), Ethan Bailey-Gould (guitar), and Oscar Evely (drums). They are joined by master Dominican percussionists Otoniel Nicolás and Edgar Molina, legendary guitarist Edilio Paredes (requinto), electronic artist Levi Lu (synths and processing), and violinist Claire Li (Baltimore). Additional collaborators include percussionists Kweku Sumbry and Sanu Basu of Farafina Kan as well as featured Haitian vocalist Tafa Mi Soleil. The album also incorporates youth voices recorded in New York with Jazz Power Initiative, Uniting Voices in Chicago, and Vibrar Studio Choir in Santo Domingo, reflecting a commitment to intergenerational exchange as part of the music’s fabric.
Quisqueya stages sound as a site of encounter, a space where histories, identities, and traditions are placed in proximity without simplification. At a moment when imagining the island as a shared cultural space can feel politically fraught, Mamey offers an alternative: music as a form of listening across differences. Rather than presenting a seamless fusion, Quisqueya insists on complexity. Spanish and Haitian Creole lyrics coexist with live electronics, contemporary instrumentation, and layered rhythmic systems, creating a sonic environment that resists easy categorization and demands active listening. The compositions were developed through performance and collaboration, allowing the music to evolve in dialogue with audiences and communities.
ALBUM RELEASE CONCERT
JUNE 27th 2026
The album will be celebrated with a phenomenal Chicago release event curated by Julián Pujols Quall for Fulcrum Point New Music Project’s Discoveries Auxin: Connected! Series at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, a longtime hub for Afro-Caribbean arts and community engagement. The event will feature a live performance by Mamey,including, in addition to Pujols Quall, guest artists Jonathan Suazo on alto saxophone, Ethan Bailey-Gould on guitar, Oscar Evely on drums, Toncau on bass, Otoniel Nicolás and JBlack on Dominican percussion, special guest vocalist Tafa Mi Soleil, and children from Uniting Voices.
The June 27th event at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center kicks off at 5:30 pm with Caribbean food and dance. Mamey takes the stage at 7:00 pm with a live set for all to listen, dance and connect!
The Quisqueya album project was made possible in part through support from a grant from Pathways to Jazz, a donor-advised fund of the Boulder County Arts Alliance, crowdfunding from GoFundMe, friends and family, and the artistic community in Chicago and beyond.
About Mamey
Mamey is a Chicago-based ensemble and cultural project exploring the musical traditions of the Hispaniola island as catalysts for contemporary improvisation, composition, and dialogue. Founded by Dominican-American pianist and composer Julián Pujols Quall, the group brings together musicians from across the United States and the Caribbean to reimagine Afro-diasporic musical frameworks in a global, collaborative context.
A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and First Prize winner of the DePaul University National Concerto Competition, Pujols Quall has performed internationally across the United States, the Dominican Republic, Europe, and the Caribbean. His work as a performer, curator, and educator centers intercultural dialogue, with projects spanning concert performance, community engagement, and radio. With Quisqueya, he establishes Mamey not only as an ensemble, but as an evolving artistic platform—one that bridges tradition and experimentation, and foregrounds the possibilities of collective creation.
About Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center
Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (SRBCC) is the longest-standing Latiné cultural center in Chicago. Established in 1971, it was named in honor of Segundo Ruiz Belvis, a Puerto Rican patriot and member of a secret abolitionist society that freed children who had been enslaved under Spanish rule. In that spirit, SRBCC realizes its mission to preserve and promote appreciation of the culture and arts of Puerto Rico and Latin America, with a focus on its African heritage.
About Fulcrum Point New Music Project
Fulcrum Point New Music Project is a creative community of musicians, composers, poets, choreographers, visual artists, and social activists. Our work connects people of all generations and cultures through programs that inspire understanding, health, and common values. Fulcrum Point welcomes and celebrates diverse, creative energies that enrich society through the arts.