Johandy Ureña is a Dominican jazz musician based in Santo Domingo whose work in jazz latino, jazz, and fusion contributes to the active but often underrecognized jazz culture of the Dominican Republic. Jazz in the Dominican Republic has developed in dialogue with the country's dominant popular traditions, and artists like Ureña who work primarily in jazz and fusion play an important role in maintaining space for improvisation, harmonic complexity, and the jazz aesthetic within a musical environment that could easily crowd out those values. His connection to Santo Domingo places him at the center of Dominican jazz life, and his work in fusion suggests an artist willing to engage with the full range of contemporary musical possibility.