A conversation that starts with listening
For Nicko Guerrero, Pura Bulla begins with a question about musical connection: how can the rhythms of the Colombian Caribbean enter a conversation with jazz while retaining their own character? The answer takes shape in composition, in the choice of instruments and in the space an ensemble leaves for improvisation.
Palenque, at the source
The project grew from fieldwork in San Basilio de Palenque, including an encounter with the Cabildo Benkos Biohó in 2016. It became the focus of Guerrero’s master’s research at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2019. The published thesis identifies bullerengue as a central source and explores its relationship with jazz through composition and instrumentation.
Different rhythms, different spaces
Matato draws on bullerengue chalupa. Ritual enters the ceremonial world of lumbalú. Fandango de Luna brings a Caribbean pulse into an intercultural ensemble, while El Viajero turns toward porro. These are distinct starting points, each offering a different way to organise the music and respond to other players.
Tradition, heard in the present
The result is neither a survey of Colombian music nor a fixed formula for jazz. It is the sound of one composer working with particular traditions, musicians and musical questions. Pura Bulla makes that process audible: inherited rhythms become the starting point for new encounters.
