TheProgramme

Tosin Salako is an international artist and the festival director of the Abuja International Afrojazz Festival. As curator and bandleader, Salako has shaped the festival into a meeting point for African and European musicians, and leads the band on the main stage for the 2026 edition.

Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo is a Nigerian composer, musical director and performer who has collaborated with Asa, Tiwa Savage, Davido, 2Baba, Sauti Sol, Angélique Kidjo and Fally Ipupa. He is a UNICEF Nigeria Ambassador.

Born blind, he taught himself piano and signed with Sony ATV UK as a songwriter in 2005. He has performed at the Global Citizen Festival and the World Economic Forum, served as Musical Director for Rhythm Unplugged and, most recently, Davido's 5ive Alive World Tour.

His film scores include Call of My Life, Christmas in Lagos, Freedom Way (AMVCA 2025 Movie of the Year) and Daughters of Chibok (Venice VR Story Award).

Gustavo Cerqueiras is a Chilean pianist, composer and producer with over two decades of international experience. Classically trained, he now focuses on melody and the fusion of ancestral 6/8 with contemporary sounds. His telluric piano (tremún in Mapudungun) turns the instrument into a vehicle of energy and emotion.

He co-created Etnojazz with Holman Trío, winning the Pulsar Prize 2017 and performing at Lincoln Center and the Montreal Jazz Festival. In Nigeria he presents a new sound journey.

ADÉDÈJÌ blends the sacred rhythms of Yoruba tradition with the soulful essence of jazz and funk, with echoes of Fela Kuti, George Benson and King Sunny Adé. Born and raised in Lagos, the singer, guitarist and composer has become a leading figure in West African music.

He has played Roskilde, Sines FMM, Sfinks, Afrika Festival Hertme, Visa for Music, WOMEX and Athens Epidavros, fusing dùndún, shekere and bata with modern jazz-funk energy.

Albums: Ajo (2012, featuring Lionel Loueke, North Netherlands Young Talent Award), Afreekanism (2017, featuring Orlando Julius, LBM Best Afro Fusion Artist) and Yoruba Odyssey (2022, Oneworld Records), a top-10 European world-music chart record nominated in Songlines' Best Artist and Top of the World 2023.

Founder of the independent label MoonJune Records (USA), specializing in unconventional music (progressive rock, jazz fusion, avant-garde, experimental).

Born in Jajce (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1962, he is a polyglot citizen of the world who lived in Italy and New York before settling in Toledo (Spain). Since 2001, he has run MoonJune Records (an independent label for eclectic and progressive music) and MoonJune Music (booking and management), having released 145 productions and handled over 3,000 events in more than 60 countries, with a special focus on Asia (over 50 tours in Japan).

He has worked with legends such as Soft Machine, Tony Levin, Bill Bruford, Allan Holdsworth, PFM, Phil Manzanera, Terry Bozzio, Scott Henderson, Andy Summers, and many others. He has visited 90 countries, speaks five languages, and has organized his own festivals in Bosnia, Spain, and Italy.

Drummer Bill Bruford called him “a magical facilitator”; Allan Holdsworth affectionately nicknamed him Nardini and named his life approach Nardinism.

Holder of a Master 1 “Information and Communication Professions”, Michèle Beltan was a music programmer at Trace TV (West Indies-Africa) then head of music programming at Tropiques FM.

She then spent eight years at Believe Distribution as a label manager for Caribbean and African artists, labels and producers. To adapt to digital, Michèle obtained an Executive bachelor’s degree in web marketing.

After being Project Manager at French label Wagram Stories, Michèle became a Professional Adult Trainer in the music sector, speaking in schools, at universities and leading training courses and masterclasses in France and abroad (Africa - Caribbean). She is also Associate Director of the Anthezic label. She is used to providing training at trade shows on the continent (visa, Rema, DMX etc.).