Reunited around saxophonist Ornella Noulet and a shared devotion to the spiritual jazz of John Coltrane, OLA TUNJI is a Brussels-based quartet whose music channels the intensity and openness of the 1960s “New Thing” movement.
Their name pays homage to Babatunde Olatunji, the Nigerian-born percussionist and close friend of John Coltrane, who introduced African drumming to jazz audiences in the U.S. and helped shape the rhythmic and spiritual dimensions of 1960’s jazz. For OLA TUNJI, his legacy represents the power of music as a path toward connection, awareness, and transcendence.
Deeply inspired by John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Albert Ayler, the group embraces improvisation as a political and spiritual act. On stage, their performances often take on a trance-like intensity, carrying musicians and audience alike toward a sense of shared elevation. The music becomes a reminder that it can still be a medium for love, sister- and brotherhood, and collective uplift.
Their first release, Untitled EP (September 27, 2024), received widespread acclaim, with airplay in Canada, the U.S., Japan, Belgium, and France, and features 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 public prizes at Gent Jazz Talent, as well as the Avignon Jazz Festival competition. Following this success, the band is now preparing its debut album, set for release in October 2026 on W.E.R.F. Records.
Ornella Noulet (Saxophones, Percussions), Egon Wolfson (Drums, Percussions), Loic Lengagne (Piano), Anthony Jouravsky (Double Bass) – Photo credit : camilleriche-photographie.com
OLA TUNJI band 