Julián and Friends is a series that promotes new music. A living music is a well-informed music that creates and develops new ideas; our goal is to foster the already thriving culture in Chicago through platforming composer-instrumentalists that are active in the music of today.
Julián Pujols Quall is a pianist based in Chicago and Baltimore. Born in Chicago, they began playing the piano at 8 and continued their studies as a performer and composer through classical and jazz music at the DePaul Community Music Division, the CYSO Composition Seminar, and the Merit School of Music. They are currently a student at Peabody Institute in Baltimore where they have studied as a Classical Performance and Jazz Performance Piano major. Music has taken Julián to many festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival and overseas to Spain for the Gijón Piano Festival.
Charlie O’Neill is a drummer based out of Chicago, IL. Born and raised in the city, he has been playing in and around Chicago for nearly 7 years. He is currently a student at DePaul University studying jazz performance. Charlie has been playing drums for over 15 years with a focus on rock and jazz music, however, also explores rap, electronic, and various world musics.
A native Chicagoan, Leo Buczkowski specializes in upright and electric bass. A current student of jazz performance at DePaul University. He loves to incorporate many styles of music into his playing and dip his toes into uncharted territory. Composing music has been a recent endeavor of his that he aims to develop further. Leo has performed at venues such as Andy’s jazz club, City Winery, Constellation, Elastic Arts, and Fulton Street Collective.
Featured Artist
Aaron Kaufman-Levine has been playing music since he was 4 and saxophone since he was 10. He has performed with the CYSO Jazz Orchestra and the nationally acclaimed 2018 Jazz Band of America. Aaron has won multiple awards for his playing including the Woody Herman Jazz Award, Outstanding Wind runner-up at Birch Creek, Outstanding Soloist honors at the Purdue Jazz Competition and 2nd prize in the Luminarts cultural foundation improvisation competition. He has also won the Kiewit Wang Mentorship Award from the Jazz Institute of Chicago. Aaron has studied with Melissa Aldana, Miguel Zenón, Donny Mccaslin, Jerry Bergonzi, Rajiv Halim, Tim McNamara, Scott Burns, Chris Madsen, Pat Mallinger, Mike Lee, Lenard Simpson, and Linda Van Dyke. He has performed at the 2020 Chicago Jazz Fest, Constellation, Andy’s Jazz Club, The Jazz Showcase, Distler Hall (Tufts), Killian Hall (MIT), Jordan Hall(NEC) and more. He is currently a presidential scholar at The New England Conservatory where he is a part of the NEC Honors Ensemble “fakeart”.
TICKETS
General Admission $15
