Shabaka - Ola Tunji

A double jazz celebration! John Coltrane would have turned one hundred in 2026, and Alice Coltrane ninety in 2027. Both icons and perpetual innovators on their instruments remain points of reference for today’s artists. Ancienne Belgique and Bozar are joining forces for a unique tribute to John Coltrane. This concert will take place at Ancienne Belgique.

SHABAKA
In late 2023, there was widespread consternation in Hutchings-land: London saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings had put away his beloved sax. He did so in style at the Hackney Church in London, with a complete performance of A Love Supreme (1965), John Coltrane’s iconic masterpiece. What followed were the soothing (sax-less) albums Afrikan Culture (2022) and Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace (2024), not coincidentally released on the iconic jazz label Impulse! Records that rightly received the nickname ‘The House That Trane Built’. After all, the label was of course home to Coltrane’s groundbreaking albums: A Love Supreme, Ascension, Crescent, Live at the Village Vanguard, … and more.

Enter 2026: Shabaka is back on the saxophone for his latest album Of The Earth. Shabaka: “This record is my celebration of freedom in creative self-expression. Before the pandemic, I could only play the clarinet and saxophone and knew nothing about music production (or how to play the flute), so this has been a journey of learning and a reflection on the music that’s been created as a result.” Just like his greatest source of inspiration, John Coltrane, Shabaka never looks back: “You’ve gotta keep it moving with music, and that’s what typifies all the heroes of the music that I really respect”, he once confided to Jazzwise.