The Julián and Friends composers showcase, created to celebrate and serve as a platform for young composers-instrumentalists, is in its second year at the Jazz Showcase. Each monthly presentation seeks to expand the intergenerational conversation of Black American Music with experimental and forward thinking original programs.
Guest artistKweku Sumbry
Grounded in the traditions of the Djembe Orchestra, Kweku Sumbry is a multi-percussionist from Washington, DC. With the djembe, drumset, and a multitude of West African Percussion instruments, Kweku is bringing forth a new sound to the jazz world.
Music has allowed Kweku to travel to Guinea, Ghana, Australia, And France to name a few countries. At the age of 24, Kweku has already graced the stage with Ambrose Akinmusire, Yosvany Terry, Cyrus Chestnut, Solange, Shabaka Hutchings, and Reggie Workman, to name a few. A true global citizen, Kweku continues to travel the world, building upon his knowledge of world music traditions and cultures.
He’s a known and sought-after quantity in New York, where he holds the drum chair in the band led by alto saxophonist and Blue Note Records artist Immanuel Wilkins, among the most acclaimed jazz players and bandleaders of the contemporary era.
"Wherever Sumbry plays, he brings to the kit an astonishing and virtuosic array of polyrhythms (i.e., contrasting rhythms played simultaneously) that are directly connected to West Africa. Sumbry has played the djembe, a hand drum that originated in Mali, since he was 2 years old; his cousin co-leads Farafina Kan, a West African drumming and dance ensemble based in Mount Rainier" --The Washington City Paper
Julián Pujols Quall
A Dominican-American pianist and composer from Chicago, Julián´s journey started with the Caribbean rhythms of their childhood. A classically trained artist, their work found a home in jazz performance, improvisation, and collaboration.
Julián is a recent Jazz Performance graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where they studied with Warren Wolf as a recipient of the Merit School of Music's Alice S. Pfaelzer Tuition-Free Conservatory Blue Ribbon Scholarship. As a solo pianist they have studied at the Aspen Music Festival, Gijón Piano Festival, Brevard Music Festival and Colburn Piano Festival.
As a founding member of the Peabody Improvisers Collective Julián developed experimental collaborative programs and has been creating and performing improvisational music for ballet, modern and West-African dance programs in Baltimore and Chicago for the last three years. In addition to Julián and Friends, they formed Mamey, a music project that seeks to deepen the understanding of the influence the Caribbean arts have had in their musical creative journey and to honor beautiful Dominican traditions and cultural resilience, as they strive to promote new and vibrant art.
TICKETS
General Admission $20
VIP $30
Student Tickets $15
Available at the door ONLY with valid student ID
