Double bill OLA TUNJI / Stann (Stan Nieuwenhuis)

OLA TUNJI OLA TUNJI is a quartet from Brussels that has united around saxophonist Ornella Noulet in a shared dedication to the spiritual jazz of John Coltrane. Their music breathes the intensity and openness of the New Thing movement of the sixties, the movement that later gained fame as free jazz. Their name is a tribute to Babatunde Olatunji, the Nigerian-born percussionist and good friend of John Coltrane. He introduced African percussion to the jazz audience in the US and helped shape the rhythmic and spiritual dimensions of the jazz of the sixties. Deeply inspired by great masters of free jazz such as Pharoah Sanders, the Coltranes, and Albert Ayler, the group embraces improvisation as a political and spiritual act. On stage, their concerts often develop a trance-like intensity that takes both musicians and audience to a shared feeling of elevation. Their music reminds us that jazz can still be a medium for love, brotherhood and sisterhood, and collective elevation. Their first release, Untitled EP (September 27, 2024), was widely acclaimed, played in Canada, the US, Japan, Belgium, and France, and mentioned in All About Jazz, Citizen Jazz, and Bandcamp’s Spiritual Jazz Revival section. In the summer of 2025, OLA TUNJI won both the jury and the audience prize at Gent Jazz Talent, as well as the competition of the Avignon Jazz Festival, where Ornella Noullet also took home the Best Soloist Award. After this success, the band is now preparing its debut album, which will be released in the autumn of 2026 on W.E.R.F. Records. Top of Form In collaboration with Jazzlab. Ornella Noulet (saxophones, percussion) Egon Wolfson (drums, percussion) Oscar Teruel (piano) Anthony Jouravsky (double bass) Stann Etudes for Cornet & Electronic Tegenover the spiritual exploration of OLA TUNJI stands the solo project Stann van Stan Nieuwhuis, although it is a musical search in a very different way. With one cornet and electric pedals, he builds layer by layer a one-man brass orchestra that he brings to life entirely himself. Starting from the rich tradition of cornet etudes — from Arban to Vizzutti — he places this classical study material in a contemporary context. For this first series, he works with the Particle 2 granular delay pedal from Red Panda, which transforms the cornet into a sound laboratory full of unexpected textures and rhythmic shifts. Thus, the etude becomes more than an exercise: a journey of discovery between discipline and experiment, where virtuosity and imagination constantly flow into each other. The result is an intimate but at the same time compelling performance that continues to surprise the listener. Met Etudes for Cornet & Electronics, Stann brings a breath of fresh air into the field of contemporary music and creates a concert experience that will appeal to both connoisseurs and curious ears.