Presented by Fulcrum Point New Music Project’s Discoveries Auxin: Connected! Series
Curated by Julián Pujols Quall
Hosted by Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center
PERFORMERS:
Julián Pujols Quall, composer, artistic director, pianist and vocalist, Otoniel Nicolás, guest percussionist from the Dominican Republic, Tafa Mi-Soleil, featured vocalist, Toncau (Dwight Augustin), bassist, Oscar Evely, drummer, Ethan Bailey-Gould, guitarist, Jonathan Suazo, saxophonist, Jblack, Dominican percussionist, and Uniting Voices
INFO
Mamey, the Chicago-based ensemble led by Dominican-American pianist Julián Pujols Quall, announces the release of its debut album on Saturday, June 27, 2026. Centered on original compositions, the project reimagines musical traditions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, including Bamboulá, Sarandunga de Baní, Salve, Gagá, Kompa, and Dembow, as frameworks for contemporary improvisation and composition.
Recorded across multiple cities in the United States and the Dominican Republic, the album features eight tracks and brings together an international collective of musicians that includes pianist and keyboardist Julián Pujols Quall alongside bassist Micah Collier, saxophonist Jonathan Suazo, guitarist Ethan Bailey-Gould, drummer Oscar Evely, and percussionists Edgar Molina and Otoniel Nicolás. Featured artists include vocalist Tafa Mi-Soleil, percussionists Kweku Sumbry and Sanu Basu, requinto guitarist Edilio Paredes, and computer musician Levi Lu.
The album also includes collaborations with youth ensembles from Jazz Power Initiative in New York, Uniting Voices Chicago, and Vibrar Choir in Santo Domingo, extending the project’s artistic vision into intergenerational exchange and community engagement.
“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 dry plantain leaves,” says Julián Pujols Quall. “From those memories, Mamey becomes a living cultural laboratory, where we reimagine tradition through collective improvisation and experimental sound.”
The June 27th concert at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center kicks off at 5:30 pm with food and dance lessons, and then Mamey takes over at 7:00 with a live set. Hang, dance, listen, and grab exclusive merch while you’re at it!
This album project was made possible in part through support from Pathways to Jazz, a donor-advised fund of the Boulder County Arts Alliance.
About Mamey
Mamey is a Chicago-based ensemble and cultural project exploring the musical traditions of Quisqueya 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.
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.
Fulcrum Point’s Discoveries: Hear & Be Heard and AuxIN: Connected series are supported by a generous grant from the Driehaus Foundation.
