EPK Ambassadors of Afro-Dominican Jazz
Josean Jacobo & Otoniel Nicolás with ALLY
Downloads
About Josean Jacobo & Otoniel Nicolás
Josean Jacobo is one of the young generation of outstanding jazz musicians coming out of the Dominican Republic. The pianist, composer and arranger possesses a unique style with vibrant compositions that provide audiences with original and innovative waves of music adorned with explosive colors. Listening to him is a journey. He’ll take you to New York, New Orleans and Santo Domingo. From there, he’ll suddenly drop into La Romana, Santiago, Monte Cristi, or Dajabon with originals rooted in traditional Afro-Dominican rhythmic styles. On this journey Jacobo is proposing to collaborate with musicians from Australian group ALLY. He and Dominican drummer Otoniel Nicolás share a deep connection with ALLY band members in the way they present music from the African diaspora and amalgamate different cultural influences into a new soundscape. This project is a great example of what makes 21st century improvisation so exciting.
Previews
Links
Josean Jacobo website: https://www.joseanjacobo.com/
Josean Jacobo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joseanjacobo/
Otoniel Nicolás Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/otonicolas/
One of todays freshest and most compelling sounds in Latin jazz. Intoxicating, unpredictable, and exciting.
Glide Magazine
Jacobo’s music is played with a searing intensity and technical finesse that gives new meaning to the term percussive power.
Latin Jazz Network
Josean Jacobo is among the most compelling of the new generation of Latin Jazz explorers
All About Jazz
About Ally
ARIA-nominated ALLY band members includes saxophonist/composer Gai Bryant (Elio Villafranca, Jim McNeely), sensational trombonist James Greening (Lou Reed, Maria Schneider, the catholics), Peruvian Australian percussionists Giorgio Rojas (Burn the Floor, Ursula Yovich) and bassist Harry Birch (Chloe Kim).
Links
ALLY Website: https://gaibryantspareparts.com/
ALLY EPK: https://gaibryantspareparts.com/ally/ally-epk/
ALLY Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALLYGlobalJazz
Palacio de la Rumba Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palaciodela01/
Preview
... ALLY never quite lets your expectations settle.
John Shane
Sydney Morning Herald
... ALLY live is a fascinating amalgam of styles and cultures.
Jessica Nicholas
The Age
ALLY featured the inexhaustibly inventive Gai Bryant at Melbourne’s Paris Cat backed by Latin rhythm and other accompaniment of astonishing virtuosity, textual density and distinctiveness.
Professor John Whiteoak
Routledge Companion UK
Bio: Josean Jacobo - pianist
Josean Jacobo is one of the most important jazz musicians in the Dominican Republic. The Berklee College of Music graduate has been called the “Ambassador of Afro-Dominican Jazz.” Jacobo is a pianist, producer and singer-songwriter of original Latin music born and raised in Santo Domingo. His music takes us on a sonorous journey through the identity of the Dominican people and their culture, adding into jazz some of the most relevant rhythms of his land and roots. Josean’s albums with drummer Otoniel Nicolas, Cimarrón and Herencia Criollo, showcase works inspired by the fusion of Afro-Dominican styles: Merengue, Pambiche, Palos, Gaga, Sarandunga, Machacó with jazz, Neo Soul and electronic dance blends.
His album “Cimarrón” (2019) broke the top 100 on US weekly jazz charts, remained in the top 50 on ABC Jazz Australia for months, was listed on the prestigious BBC “Most Requested Jazz Records”, and selected as one of the best albums of 2019 in Jazziz magazine. He has performed at international jazz festivals including Barranquijazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival curated by Danilo Perez, Guadlope Festival and the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival. He is now domiciled in Canada and tours regularly in North and South America.
On their debut visit to Australia Josean and Otoniel are proposing to collaborate with James Greening (trombone), Gai Bryant (saxophones), Giorgio Rojas (percussion) and Harry Birch (double bass) from ARIA-nominated group ALLY. ALLY are known for producing spectacular, trailblazing original music that straddles both Latin and jazz soundscapes.
Josean Jacobo by Jeremy Garcia
Bio: Otoniel Nicolás - drummer
Otoniel plays predominantly with groups who use a wide rhythmic palette. He is currently working on transferring the music codes of Dominican folklore to the drum set to enable him to make a unique and exciting contribution to world music, its rhythms and fusions. He has been able to develop a very special technique on drum set that comes directly from his experience learning Afro-Latin percussion, garnering high praise from Josean Jacobo and other colleagues such as Swing Divino, Ramon Orlando,Banda Gorda, Klibre, Miguel Miguel, Christopher Valoy, Miguel Angel, Lokkera, Erimar, Soberbia, RicoMambo, CocoBand, Moreno Negrón, Juliana.
Otoniel Nicolás by Fernando Rodriguez de Mondesert
Bio: Bio ALLY - global jazz ensemble
ALLY was a featured group at Boom! International Festival of Percussion held in Sydney alongside Cuban-based Caribe, acclaimed Taiko ensemble Taikoz, percussionists Nacho Mena, Fritz Hauser and more. They have opened and closed Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival in 2019 and 2020 to full houses. During 2021-2024 ALLY toured extensively in regional NSW to venues in Nowra, Shoalhaven, Kiama, Blue Mountains, Orange, Kandos, Lithgow, Bellingen, Port Kembla and Wollongong and more. They have performed interstate with sell-out shows in Melbourne at Paris Cat, Canberra’s Belco Arts and Devonport Jazz Festival. ALLY released their debut album Drum Junk in July 2022 garnering an ARIA World Music nomination.
ALLY by Mike Kenny