MAMEY’S “QUISQUEYA” ALBUM RELEASE CONCERT at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center – Chicago, IL

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. The album debut will be celebrated with a phenomenal Chicago release event curated by Julián Pujols Quall and presented by Fulcrum Point New Music Project’s Discoveries Auxin: Connected! Series and Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center.  

The event at Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center, a longtime hub for Afro-Caribbean arts and community engagement, will feature a live performance by Mamey, including, in addition to Pujols Quall, international guest artists:

Jonathan Suazo on alto saxophone, Ethan Bailey-Gould on guitar, Oscar Evely on drums, Toncau on bass, Otoniel Nicolás and JBlack on percussion, Tafa Mi-Soleil, featured Haitian vocalist, and children from Uniting Voices Chicago. 

​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!   ​

ABOUT THE RECORDING

Conceived as both a musical statement and a cultural proposition, the album reimagines the shared sonic heritage of the Dominican Republic and Haiti through contemporary composition, improvisation, and experimental practice.

Recorded across multiple cities—including Chicago, New York, Baltimore, and Santo Domingo—Quisqueya 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. Featured collaborators include legendary guitarist Edilio Paredes (requinto), electronic artist Levi Lu (synths and processing),  percussionists Kweku Sumbry and Sanu Basu of Farafina Kan, as well as Haitian vocalist Tafa Mi-Soleil. The album also incorporates youth voices recorded in New York with Jazz Power Initiative, in Chicago with Uniting Voices, and in Santo Domingo with Vibrar Studio Choir in Chicago, and Vibrar Choir in Santo Domingo, reflecting a commitment to intergenerational exchange as part of the music’s fabric.

The Quisqueya album project was made possible in part by 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. 

You can still be part of the community making the album come to life! Click below!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mamey-record-their-debut-album