Fulcrum Point New Music Project Discoveries AuxIn: Connected! w/ Julián and Friends

Wed, Sep 10

MODULAR MODES Imagine puzzle pieces that, when arranged in different ways, each reveal a distinct, complete image—or a Swiss Army knife whose tools sprout new tools as you use them. A modular set of music is like that and more: you never know in what order you’ll hear the piece, or which parts might remain unplayed that night. BIOS Julián Pujols Quall is a Dominican-American pianist and keyboardist, improviser, composer and educator from Chicago who has performed classical and jazz repertoire throughout the continental United States as well as in the Dominican Republic, Spain, Belgium, Puerto Rico and Mexico. A classically trained artist, Peabody Conservatory graduate, and DePaul University National Concerto Competition for Young Performers First Prize Winner, their work has found a home in jazz performance, improvisation and cross-cultural collaboration since developing experimental collaborative programs as a founding member of the Peabody Improvisers Collective. They are a curator for the Discoveries Hear & Be Heard series at Fulcrum Point New Music Project, and a 2025 National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Institute Fellow. Julián has been lead instructor for the Afro-Caribbean Jazz Combo at the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center After School Matters and is currently an accompanist at The Joffrey Ballet’s Grainger Academy. They are the host of “The Changes”, a trilingual interview show presenting local and international musicians on Lumpen Radio. Julián completed a 2024 Banff Center for the Arts Jazz and Sonic Arts composition/performance residency, released the single Rothko; Tlaloc and Totec with Carrier Records in 2023, and most recently had their compositions Chord Prelude and Moriviví premiere at the DiMenna Center for New and Classical Music during the 2024 Yarn/Wire Institute Festival in New York. Julián´s compositions are central to two projects they direct: Julián and Friends, a collaborative composition concert series running since 2022 at The Jazz Showcase, featuring guest artists such as Corey Wilkes, Lorin Benedict, Levi Lu, Brandon Woody, Kweku Sumbry, Lenard Simpson, Vincent Davis and Marques Carroll, and Mamey, a jazz project founded in 2023 centering on Dominico-Haitian music that debuted in Belgium and has completed a spring of 2024 South Arts Jazz Tour of the East Coast and a 2025 tour of the East Coast and the Caribbean. They will release a debut album in early 2026 thanks to a Pathways to Jazz grant. Aaron Kaufman-Levine is a Chicago based saxophonist, composer and improviser. Aaron is an active performer in the Chicago-area, and has led his group at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Constellation, Fulton Street Collective, and more. He has also played at Chicago Symphony Hall, Pritzker Pavilion, Andy’s Jazz Club, Chicago Jazz Showcase, Hungry Brain, Oracle Egg (Los Angeles), The LilyPad(Boston), and Jordan Hall (Boston). He leads the Aaron Kaufman-Levine Quartet, is ½ of improvising saxophone duo Bearduo and ⅕ of the improvising collective BananaAcid and is the music director for pop/rock/experimental band 20/20 Plastic. An award-winning saxophonist, Aaron has performed with the nationally acclaimed Jazz Band of America and is the recipient of the Kiewit-Wang Mentorship Award from the Jazz Institute of Chicago. He is a recent graduate of New England Conservatory where he graduated with honors as a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship. Frank Morrison’s talents were recognized early on while growing up in his family church. He developed quickly as a result of having a musical family. He later graduated from Morgan Park High School where he was acknowledged for his leadership skills and participation in many of Chicago’s most notable Jazz programs such as CYSO, Jazz institute of Chicago’s Jazz Ambassadors, Ravinia Jazz Scholars, and Gallery 37. Morrison then attended the University of Louisville where he studied Jazz Performance with an emphasis in Jazz Drums. Eager to reconnect with friends and family, Morrison returned home in the summer of 2021 after completing two years at the University. Since then, Morrison has worked with many top tier musicians by the likes of Wadada Leo Smith, Ernest Dawkins, Mario Abney, Micah Collier, Dee Alexander, and many more. Leo Buczkowski is a native Chicagoan, specializing 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.