Jùwón

Juwon Adenuga is a Nigerian musician, composer, and performer-scholar whose work centers on the revitalization and reimagination of Yoruba musical and storytelling traditions. A PhD student in Jazz Studies and an Arts & Sciences Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, Juwon is deeply engaged in exploring the intersections between Yoruba music, jazz, and other world cultures.

As a composer and performer, Juwon draws on a wide spectrum of traditional and modern influences to create dynamic musical experiences. His compositions reflect a deliberate effort to bridge Yoruba oral traditions with global soundscapes, often blending storytelling, sacred themes, and cultural hybridity. Some of his original works include Olúda, Àbáméta, Olúgbon, Obalàbàtà, and Ogórùn-ún.

Juwon’s academic and creative work examines how Yoruba storytelling operates across both physical and non-physical spaces. These include traditional community performances, festivals, concert halls, and digital environments such as recordings and social media. His collaborations with organizations like Chamber Music Nigeria and Akojopo demonstrate his commitment to using music for cultural education and social impact.

A defining project in his artistic journey is his upcoming album, ÌYÁ ÌYÁ. This eight-track concept record reimagines the classic Yoruba folktale of Ìjàpá, the tortoise, and Ajá, the dog, through the lens of jazz and oral tradition. The album begins with an “Alo Apamo” (riddle), a customary prelude in Yoruba storytelling, which sets the stage for a vivid retelling of ancestral wisdom. Tracks 3 to 5 dramatize the core fable with energy and nuance, while the final three tracks offer reflective reinterpretations of the story’s themes—morality, wisdom, and communal responsibility—bridging generational and cultural divides.

Juwon’s early musical foundation includes jazz piano training at Peter King’s College of Music and a diploma in classical piano performance from the MUSON School of Music. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music composition from the University of Ibadan. These diverse experiences have shaped his multi-stylistic approach and sharpened his focus on Yoruba music as both a subject of scholarly inquiry and a living, evolving practice.

Through his academic research, compositions, and performances, Juwon Adenuga champions storytelling as a vital cultural form that resists erasure and affirms Yoruba identity in a rapidly globalizing world. His work is not only a preservation of heritage but a creative intervention—reimagining oral traditions in ways that speak to contemporary audiences across physical and digital landscapes.