Fresh out the oven!
NPR Session at WUSF Studios in Tampa, Florida. This performance was a showcase of solo piano works, improvised and through-composed. I smile, I grin, I close my eyes, I “sing.” Everything you want in your music videos! Full playlist here.
Summer of 2023, last concert for El Matíz Tour. The song is one of the band’s most popular selections: a Bachunta, the merging of Bachata and Punta, and quite a successful one!
Recitalist Archive
Debussy preludes informed me on how to best use my feet playing the piano. This is from my archive of Young Talents recitals at La BLAA in Bogotá, Colombia. Full playlists: 2012 Season and 2013 Season.
It is the year 2016: A Colombian, a Brazilian, and a Trinbagonian enter a bar… The Latin American-Caribbean Connection (L. A. C. Connection) was an attempt to explore ensemble composition and improvisation within the Jazz Fusion style. This was our promo video!
Mississippi Archive
Once I was guest to the Southern Miss Steel Pan Orchestra, the only ensemble of its kind in several hundred miles! One of the many surprises of the Deep South in the US.
Pandemic Archive (in search of inspiration)
I strongly believe that Frank Zappa is one artist that yields very high rewards for those who stick around long enough to experience his work. Personally, I try to always include some Zappa in everything I do, like a secret condiment to my recipes. The footage is our version of a medley from his 1988 band.
Just like Bach, Hermeto Pascoal’s music sounds good in any kind of instrumentation. In this scene, I am fighting boredom and hopelessness during the pandemic, and also expressing a heartfelt homage to Hermeto Pascoal’s work with the Forró style.
Ever since 2020 I have developed a way of expressing myself in instruments like the melodica just because of learning Hermeto Pascoal’s infinite and wonderful melodies.
Synthwave & VGM experiments
GeoAnimus again: Can you make a track in the style of 1970’s prog band Camel?
GeoAnimus: Can you make incidental music in the style of Saint Seiya’s OST, perhaps with hyper-chromatic harmony?
SynthBit: Can you make a song in the style of Donkey Kong Country’s Aquatic Ambience but he is drinking Cachaça in Rio de Janeiro?
Assorted Musicings
Stream something new to your ears. No ads ever.
Who is he and how is he doing?
"Creative expression has a rhythm. As artists, when we find ourselves desiring too much it can become detrimental to our mental health. Achieving a true balance between pursuing things and letting things happen is of paramount importance in order to live a life devoted to creativity. One day I will come full circle with that search, but for now I shall let the music tell you the story of my progress.”
Julián Pernett Castilla’s musical identity is a reflection of his dual heritage: the misty highlands of the Andes and the ode to joy that is the Caribbean Colombia, with a side of Barranquillero Arrebatao’.
He was born in Bogotá in 1993, and grew up in a household where music and dance was woven into the fabric of daily life. His family’s dedication to creativity and artistic expression shaped his early years, with his brother, Renato—today an established producer and virtuoso—serving as his very first influences.
Although Afro-Latin Percussion is his First Love, 15-year old Julián decided to follow the path of the concert pianist and was mentored by Pilar Leyva. This makes him one of the very few pianists in the world that carry the teachings of Claudio Arrau and Franz Liszt beyond the realms of classical music.
In 2015 Julián moved to the United States, where his musical perspective became deeply permeated by the rich history of jazz. This eventually led to current collaborations that reimagine jazz traditions, such as his work with The Sokołowski Trombone Project, an ensemble devoted to revitalizing the legacy of ‘Bone Bands,’ and the New Orleans-stylized Schaff/Wall Collective.
His years in Mississippi and Florida thoroughly expanded the scope of his work and accented his Colombian idiosynrasy. This new musical language is evident in genre-defying projects like Sandujazz, co-founded alongside Honduran artist Alex Ocón, which draws from Afro-Caribbean and Latin American traditions, Brazilian rhythms, jazz, rock, and Antillean soundscapes.
In November of 2023, Julián joined forces with the Paris-based songwriter duo Eilidh, Brazilian artist Kau Caldas, and his own band, Sandujazz for a touring and recording project in São Paulo, Brazil. The release has earned special acclaim due to its multicultural, polystylistic nature.
2024 was a year of many different creative and professional engagements, and Julián’s career reached new heights with a series of NPR Live Sessions produced in collaboration with WUSF Radio Station in Tampa, Florida, showcasing his versatility as both a bandleader, improviser, and sideman.
At the core of Julián’s artistry is his belief in Free Praxis, a philosophy that prioritizes creative freedom over market or audience expectations. Inspired by visionaries like Hermeto Pascoal and Frank Zappa, and sages like Gabriel García Márquez and Doug Stanhope, he strives to create music that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Photo by Renato Pernett Castilla, 2011
Poster design by Renato Pernett Castilla, 2011
Young Talents concert at Cartagena International Music Festival, 2014
Performing Bach at Cartagena International Music Festival, 2014
After playing Granados at Cartagena International Music Festival, 2014
Sandujazz - Los Niños Tour, 2022
Sandujazz - El Matíz Tour, 2023 (first show!)
Sandujazz - El Matíz Tour, 2023 (last show!)
Sandujazz duo feature in Columbus, GA, 2024
NPR session, WUSF Studios, 2024
Yes, I teach too
Once I asked a friend: 'Who do you think is treated worse in our society: artists or teachers?'
She answered immediately: 'Teachers who teach the arts.'
Hilarious, but true. Why? Well, both artists and educators work with invisible transformations—those moments when a shift in perception, a new technique grasped, or an unexpected, previously undiscovered beauty briefly changes how someone moves through the world. It’s delicate work that resists measurement. My calling to teach happened because I believe in those moments. Not as a performer on a stage, but as someone who has witnessed how the right guidance at the right time can help talent find its own voice. The joy is in the doing: in watching a student’s hands discover what their ears already knew. Good teaching, like good art, is not about the teacher—it is about making space for something to happen.
What are you curious about?
🎹 Piano & Keyboard Instruments
Whether you're starting out or pursuing creative freedom, I’ll guide you to express yourself and achieve your goals.
🎧 Music Production
From beats to recordings, let’s explore how to create, record, and find inspiration in the music you love.
🎶 Music Appreciation
Wondering, “How can I recreate the sounds of the songs I love?” Learn to listen deeply—to rhythm, melody, harmony, and more—and bring those elements into your own music.
📚 Music Theory & Rhythm Perception
Curious about harmony, melody, or rhythm? Let’s turn theory into discovery and make it work for you.
La libre opinión
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Pablo Arencibia
Jazz Piano Faculty at University of South Florida
"He astonished the audience with his command of an amazingly challenging repertoire (...) I am so happy to have had this amazing pianist in our Jazz Piano Studio at USF."
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Larry Panella
Director of Jazz Studies at University of Southern Mississippi, Phil Collins Big Band
"Julián is highly skilled in Classical performance, composition, and technique in general; and, at the same time, his creativity and fluidity in jazz and Afro-Latin music is inspiring. A prominent and distinguished instrumentalist, composer, educator, and collaborative musician.”
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Tom "Bones" Malone
Blues Brothers Band, Frank Zappa, SNL Band
"Julián's performance at the [Long Beach (MS)] Festival demonstrated to me that he is the real deal, exhibiting a degree of skill substantially higher than that of most musicians in his field. I have since listened to [his music]. His writing and improvisation are superb"
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Chick Corea
After a four-hand improvisation (watch here)
“I like how you listen, man!”
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Andrés Zuluaga
Colombian pedagogue, composer and pianist
Awaiting response from Mr. Zuluaga Amaya.
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Dalton Page
Apprenticeship Testimonial
“Julián Pernett introduced me to piano in a powerful way, and paved the way for my piano career.”
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Regis Tadeu
Brazilian journalist and critic
In regards to Sandujazz’s Niño Kbrón: “I actually really liked the arrangement of this song because it is effective at doing a mixture of Jazz with "[Afro-Latin] music”
Enter my sonic jungle!
For inquiries regarding performances, lessons, recording projects, or anything else, this is your trailhead. Just send your message, and we'll find a rhythm together. 🌿🎹