Jakuta’s Dance, June 2026, 577 Records:
Keep an eye out for our feature article in The WIRE (UK)
On its upcoming sophomore release, Jakutá’s Dance, Onilu has crafted a welcome follow-up that is even more expansive in vision, palette and membership. Returning from the initial outing are veteran Philadelphia-based percussionist Kevin Diehl and legendary drummer Joe Chambers; joining them in this revamped quartet line-up are fellow Philadelphia favorite Craig McIver and the Panama-born Daniel Villarreal, a longtime contributor to the fertile Chicago jazz scene who now also makes his home in the City of Brotherly Love. Between them they explore the spectrum of percussion instruments, from a global variety of drums to tuned instruments including piano, vibraphone and marimba, to electronic textures and atmospherics.
Together as Onilu, these four artists refuse to be limited by the expectations that come with the term “percussionist.” Along with a staggering arsenal of instruments spanning multiple cultures and traditions, they each contribute a sweeping imagination unshackled by considerations of genre, style or boundary. In the music of Onilu coexist ancient and future, sacred and profane, composition and improvisation, tradition and experiment.
ONILU’s Jakutá’s Dance
Artist: Onilu
Album Title: Jakutá’s Dance
Landscapes
Jakutá’s Dance
Holocene Serene
Pope-A-Dope
Café Con Pan
Circles
Olókun Slumber
Ni tán (That’s It)
Jakutá’s Dance Credits
Joe Chambers: vibraphone, drum kit, assorted percussion
Kevin Diehl: Sensory Percussion drum kit, bata/drum kit mashup, cajon, quinto
Craig McIver: marimba, glockenspiel, drum kit, assorted percussion
Daniel Villarreal: primary drum kit, Sensory Percussion drum kit, cajon, assorted percussion, marimba
Recorded September 30, 2025 Rittenhouse Sound Works Philadelphia
The above steaming tracks are pre master tracks intend for private use.
BACKLINE INSTRUMENTS FOR PRESENTERS
(1) vibraphone, (1) marimba (1) drum kit w hardware (1) partial drum kit – kick, snare, floor tom (no cymbal hardware required for this partial)
Stereo DI
VIDEOS – for Jakutá’s Dance are currently in post production.
ONILU, The Debut Record, February 2025, eremite:
The self-titled debut album was recorded in January of 2023. It was released world-wide by the Eremite label on February 7, 2025. It featured Joe Chambers, Kevin Diehl and Chad Taylor.
a shared devotion to drumming as a cultural, spiritual and historical phenomenon. They wear that reverence; a house wide open to the sun and wind on a breezy spring day. – Bill Meyer, magnetmagazine.com
emotionally open, sonically generous, three masters of different generations celebrating a shared musical passion. – Stuart Broomer, freejazzblog.org
What a wonderfully uplifting, fresh and enjoyable recording this is. I’ve not come across anything quite like it. – Glenn Klimpton, klofmag.com