ADJA + LUCA Bigband ft Zoë Modiga

ADJA

ADJA is the project of 30CC focus artist Adja Fassa.

As a maker, singer and performer, she is quickly making a name for herself in Belgium as a multidisciplinary talent with big plans. In 2022, she won the Soundtrack edition Brussels and in January 2023, Belgian newspaper De Morgen selected her as one of the six Belgian music promises of 2023: “Her debut EP is style-wise reminiscent of the spiritual neo-soul of Erykah Badu, the black empowerment of Solange and the velvety approach of Lianne La Havas. Not a bad club to join, we think.”

In addition to being a singer, she is also a theatre maker, in the development phase of what she calls “sophisticated soul in a hybrid concert format”: with music central, her live shows gradually take on a theatrical character. All this is from a desire to depict the subconscious and especially the feelings we experience at the tipping points of our lives, into a total experience.

At Leuven Jazz, she presents her debut EP IRONEYE, in collaboration with groove-obsessed music label Sdban Ultra and 30CC. She combines this brand-new work with a homage to jazz icon Nina Simone. “Nina Simone is definitely one of my heroines. A soul that I ask as a source of strength to accompany me on this journey and that I invite to tell what it has not yet had the chance to say.”

LUCA big band ft Zoë Modiga

With the South African singer Zoë Modiga, the LUCA big band once again invites a top artist. Led by conductor Frank Vaganée, they’ll perform an African and often swinging repertoire, as well as a selection of protest songs.

Zoë Modiga is an artist representing the present and future of South African music. She draws from African stories, jazz compositions and Motown soul, and creates her own unique sound. At a very young age, she chose to attend the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, where she studied classical piano, clarinet and voice. Later she also studied Jazz performance at the College of Music, UCT. Last summer she performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival.