Releasing
SOON!!
Personnel | About the Album | About the Songs
QUISQUEYA (2026)
Artist: Julián Pujols Quall and Mamey
The Ensemble
Julián Pujols Quall — Piano, Keyboards, Vocals (1-8)
Micah Collier — Bass (1-6, 8)
Jonathan Suazo — Alto Saxophone (1-6, 8)
Ethan Bailey-Gould — Guitar (1-4, 6, 8)
Oscar Evely — Drums (1-6, 8)
Otoniel Nicolás —Percussion (1-8)
Featured Artists
Tafa Mi-Soleil —Lead Vocals (4), Background Vocals (2)
Kweku Sumbry — Djembe (3)
Sanu Basu — Percussion (8)
Edilio Paredes — Requinto guitar (6)
Levi Lu — Electronics (7)
Guest Artists
Edgar Molina — Percussion (2-8)
Claire Li — Violin (6)
Alejandro Quiles — Cello (6)
Nico Wohl — Guitar (7)
Vocal Collaborations
Youth Choir — Jazz Power Initiative (New York) Singers Jazz Power Initiative’s “Zah! Jr.” with Gigi Deleon, Amelia Thomas. and Sofía Tosello, Jazz Power Initiative vocal coach (1,8)
Youth Choir — Uniting Voices Chicago (1,8)
Youth Choir — Vibrar Studio, Santo Domingo (1,8)
Production
Executive Producer/Co-editor: Julián Pujols Quall
Editor/Co-Producer: Alejandro Quiles
Co-Producer: Rohan Chander
Recording Studios: Rax Trax Recording Studios, Chicago, IL; Jazz Power Initiative, New York, NY; Peabody Institute, Baltimore, MD; Vibrar Studios and Zero Digital, Santo Domingo, DR; Various Home Studios
Recording/Mixing Engineer: Andy Shoemaker, Rax Trax Recording Studios
Mastering Engineer: Dave Horrocks
Compositions: All compositions, lyrics and arrangements byJulián Pujols Quall
Artwork & Design
Cover Concept: Julián Pujols Quall and Harmonipan Studios
Illustration and Element Design: Elijah Bradford, Deon Reed, Jericho Redmond, Moira Pujols
Pre-Press Design: DotPress
Photography: Diana Solis
This project was made possible in part by a grant from Pathways to Jazz, a donor-advised fund of the Boulder County Arts Alliance
© ℗ 2026 Julián Pujols Quall and Julipuku LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
Distribution
AWAL
Printing
Solid Merch
About the Album
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, 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.
Many of the musical traditions that call to me, Bamboulá, Sarandunga de Baní, and Salve, were born not on the dance floor but in ceremony and communal gathering. As I followed these sounds more deeply, I began to hear the musical kinship between the Dominican Republic and Haiti: shared rhythmic vocabularies and ceremonial echoes that move beneath and beyond the borders drawn across the island.
Rather than pursuing a polished fusion, the album dwells intentionally in complexity and proximity. Spanish and Haitian Creole move alongside live electronics, contemporary instrumentation, and layered rhythmic structures, transforming through encounter with audiences, musicians, and communities over time. — Julián
About the Songs
1. Sarandunga: Olas
The first of the Sarandunga triptych is inspired by the traditions of Baní in the Dominican South, where my Ocoeñan family is from. During the Saint John the Baptist celebrations, Sarandunga ceremonies begin with Los Moranos, the rhythm that grounds this piece. The music reflects Afro-Catholic traditions central to Dominican life.
2. Oriki
In Yoruba tradition, an Oriki is a praise poem or invocation honoring a person, place, or spirit. This was the first piece I wrote for Mamey. Imagining Enerolisa Núñez singing inspired the melody, whose recurring motif became the song’s Oriki. Her voice also became an Oriki of my own musical path, one I continue to follow when I listen closely.
3. Sarandunga: Al paso
Based on the Jacana, the second movement of the Sarandunga tradition is where elders dance at the center of the celebration. The djembe, one of the oldest instruments on the album, invites us here to reflect on aging: If time shows us no mercy, should we mourn our passage through it?
4. Zile Nou
Named for the Dajabón River, often called the Massacre River, this piece reflects on the histories of Hispaniola’s borderlands. Moving from the image of a flower beside the river toward the river itself, the work is dedicated to the beautiful souls who continue to nourish the island, and it´s dedicated to belle nanm sa yo.
5. Pa lo muerto
Dedicated to the Quisqueyano ancestors whose creativity shaped the island’s musical tapestry. The passing of Enerolisa Núñez during the making of this album transformed the piece into a reflection on memory and continuity.
6. Bajo la luna, frente al sol
A lullaby inspired by the Juan Luis Guerra music box that put me to sleep as a child to “La Cosquillita.” The lyrics imagine a parent watching a child fall asleep beneath the moon, only to realize the child was illuminating it all along. Rhythmically, the piece reimagines Los Moranos and Balsié patterns.
7. Sarandunga: Bomba e
Inspired by a recording of Amancia Pérez, “La Capitana de la Sarandunga.” Her phrasing, rhythmic agility, and repeated cry of “Bomba e” left a lasting impression, and this melody grew directly from that encounter.
8. Vapeur
Written after hearing “Vapeur” on Caribbean Revels: Haitian Rara and Dominican Gaga. I was captivated by the magic of its dramatic tempo shifts emerging from a single groove. This piece explores tempo as a kind of musical magic, ending with the words: “Together in song, the whole world sounds alike, from the city to the countryside.”