Ola Tunji

Ola Tunji is a Brussels-based quartet led by saxophonist Ornella Noulet, reunited around a shared passion for the spiritual jazz of John Coltrane. Their music draws on the intensity and openness of the New Thing movement of the 1960s, carrying the legacy of Alice Coltrane, Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders. The quartet’s name pays tribute to Babatunde Olatunji, a Nigerian percussionist and close friend of Coltrane who introduced African rhythms into American free jazz. Like their predecessors, the members of Ola Tunji see music as a path towards connection and transcendence, with improvisation becoming both a political and spiritual act. On their debut album, TRUST (2026, W.E.R.F. Records), they put this vision into practice: through mutual trust, they turn music into a space for inner exploration, for musicians and audience alike.