Fotoverslag | Adja - Marni Jazz Festival 2026
The 2026 Marni Jazz Festival opened with Adja Fassa, one of Brussels’ distinctive voices at the crossroads of jazz, soul, R&B and gospel. Joined by Alexis Nootens on guitar, Maxime Moyaerts on keyboards, Edwin Theophile on bass and double bass, Patrick Dorcean on drums and Emile Hennuyer on trumpet, Adja created a warm, organic sound where groove, texture and vocal expression remained in constant dialogue. Her background in theatre and jazz was particularly present in the way she used her voice not only as an instrument, but also as a storyteller, with some of the songs she co-wrote with Nootens for her Golden Retrieve Her 2025 debut album. Its eleven interconnected stories explore how the capitalist world filters into our most intimate lives, but what resonated most was the rawness of the emotions behind them. Anxiety, insecurity and self-doubt, feelings we all encounter at different moments in our lives, were expressed with such honesty that they felt deeply personal yet immediately relatable. The darker songs gradually gave way to a lighter ending, turning towards friendship and romantic love. After the introspection, Adja left the room on a warmer, more hopeful note: a confident and deeply human opening to the festival.
Donderdag, 10 september 2026, Marni (Brussel, BE) | Foto's & tekst: Cristina Vergara
