Jazz Brugge Saturday

Count on Jazz Brugge to spot and serve up talent that will soon be on big - if not the biggest - stages. Ola Tunji (BE) is at the forefront of the new generation of jazz bands; they play Coltrane-soaked spiritual jazz with inspiration and fire. The name to keep an eye on is undoubtedly Fuensanta (MX). The Mexican bassist has everything it takes to become the next big thing in jazz: uniqueness, virtuosity and the superpower to captivate a very wide audience. Be sure to check out Brahja, who is travelling from New York to Bruges to perform spiritual jazz with influences from the Nordic jazz scene. If it's heavy jazz you're looking for, look no further: Lagon Nwar (FR) gives birth to a wild love child of (free)jazz, afrobeat, Ouagadougou folk and psychedelic pop. MESTIZX - the Bolivian-American duo Ibelisse Guardi Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly - fuses jazz and folk with the raw energy of punk and layers of electronica. For contemporary jazz infused with elements of traditional Turkish music, we can count on Korhan Futacı. Belgian-Ghanian ESINAM closes day 2 of Jazz Brugge with flute, synths, loop stations and an arsenal of percussion instruments.

19h00 Ola Tunji

Ola Tunji is a relatively young quartet of French conservatory students based in Brussels. Together, they explore the boundaries of spiritual jazz and free jazz, inspired by their heroes like John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Albert Ayler. At the forefront is 24-year-old Ornella Noulet, whose saxophone playing can both sear and soothe like that of a seasoned jazz veteran. They describe their music as collective meditations—improvised expressions of love, compassion, joy, and serenity. In their performances, they search together for a deeper humanity. Late last year, they released their untitled debut digitally on Bandcamp, which quickly gained international attention from outlets like Canada’s One Man’s Jazz, the U.S.-based All About Jazz, and even Bandcamp itself, which featured them as a highlight. They are currently working on their debut album, scheduled for release in spring 2026 on W.E.R.F. records. At Jazz Brugge, you’ll get a privileged preview of this new material in a live setting.
 

20h00 Brahja

Since 2008 – in all its various guises – Brahja has been creating its own unique form of avant-garde and spiritual jazz. For more than a decade and a half, the group has been developing a unique sound that has its roots in the jazz scenes of New York and Montreal, but whose branches extend much further. Founder, bandleader, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Devin Brahja Waldman, a fixture on the iconic downtown New York jazz scene, brought together musicians from outside the city to shape his musical vision. For Jazz Brugge, the collective crosses the Atlantic and transforms into a trio with Georgia Wartel Collins and Joakim Heibø Johansen, in which influences from the Nordic jazz scene also resonate.
 

20h00 Lagon Nwar

Lagon Nwar is a unique French "ethno jazz" collective that brings together intensity, diversity, and poetic depth. Led by saxophonist Quentin Biardeau and bassist Valentin Ceccaldi—both associated with Le Tricollectif—this quartet invites audiences on a musical journey across cultures. Front and center is charismatic vocalist Ann O’Aro. Raised in La Réunion, she blends the driving energy of maloya—the island’s traditional music—with sharp, activist lyrics in both Creole and French. The group is completed by Marcel Balboné, a percussionist and singer from Burkina Faso whose hypnotic rhythms on traditional instruments make their music wildly infectious. Together, Lagon Nwar navigates seamlessly between La Réunion, Burkina Faso, Orléans, Ouagadougou, and Paris, crafting a sound that’s never been heard before—somewhere between afro-jazz, maloya, psych-rock, and European pop.
 

21h15 Fuensanta

Fuensanta is undoubtedly one of the rising stars of the international jazz scene. The vocalist and bassist was born in the Mexican port city of Veracruz and began her musical journey at age 13. To further hone her craft, she studied jazz at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, graduating summa cum laude.

In her music, she celebrates and sings of the nature and culture of her native Mexico. Her brand-new quartet—featuring Gabriel Milliet, Isa Crespo, and Álex Lázaro—brings together four vibrant musical soulmates dedicated to creating a surreal dreamscape. Their sound evokes Mexican and Latin American traditions, jazz, improvisation, and classical music, guided entirely by the honesty of Fuensanta’s voice and lyrics. What results is a sound that stands out in its singularity.

22h30 MEXTIZX (Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly)

MESTIZX is the powerful debut album by Bolivia-born performer Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and acclaimed Chicago drummer Frank Rosaly. Now based in Amsterdam and partners both musically and personally, the duo delves deep into their Indigenous roots in Bolivia, Brazil, and Puerto Rico to create a bold musical meditation on decolonization, identity, and resistance. MESTIZX blends avant-jazz, art punk, bomba, cumbia, Andean rhythms, and experimental electronics into a sound that is as raw and ritualistic as it is futuristic. With echoes of Juana Molina, Tortoise, and Elza Soares, the project celebrates mixed heritage and radical hybridity. At once deeply personal and vibrantly communal, MESTIZX is protest music you can move to: soulful, subversive, and utterly original.
 

22h30 Korhan Futacı

The moment Korhan Futacı puts his lips to the mouthpiece of his saxophone, the ritual begins. A prominent figure in Turkey’s alternative music scene, Futacı takes the audience on a journey from the sweltering chaos of Istanbul into an unknown sonic realm—a world teeming with life, yet laced with darkness, where traditional Turkish music fuses with free improvisation. Futacı has performed on countless stages, including with his free jazz group Konstrukt at Roskilde, Jazzfest Saalfelden, and A’larme Festival. Thanks to his broad artistic scope, he has collaborated with musicians from across the genre spectrum, including avant-garde legends like Peter Brötzmann, Marshall Allen, Thurston Moore, Ken Vandermark, and William Parker. We’re thrilled to welcome him to the stage at Jazz Brugge.

23h30 ESINAM

Brussels-based musician with Ghanaian roots, ESINAM, is without a doubt one of the hardest-working women in the Belgian music scene. With her primary instrument—the flute—she has toured the world, soaking up sounds and influences wherever she goes. In her most recent work, she digs deeper into the rich traditions of African music. Earlier this year, she released the internationally acclaimed album Healing Voices in collaboration with South African percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Sibusile Xaba. At Jazz Brugge, she returns to a solo setup, armed with her flute, synths, loop stations, and an arsenal of percussion instruments. ESINAM’s music is entrancing, harmonious, and irresistibly danceable. A perfect closing act for this vibrant Saturday night at Jazz Brugge.