Tutu Puoane Quartet

Tutu Puoane, born in 1979 in Atteridgeville near Pretoria and raised in the township of Mamelodi, is one of South Africa's most acclaimed jazz voices. She began her professional career in 1997 in Johannesburg before studying jazz vocals at the University of Cape Town and later at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. In 2004, she received the Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Award. Since 2004 she has been based in Antwerp, Belgium, where she works closely with pianist Ewout Pierreux, her longtime artistic partner and husband. Her discography includes "Song" (2007), "Quiet Now" (2009, SAMA Award), "Mama Africa" (2010) with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra as a tribute to Miriam Makeba, as well as "We Have A Dream" (2018) and "It Might As Well Swing" (2021). She has also collaborated with the WDR Big Band, the Metropole Orkest, and the Flemish Philharmonic. With her quartet, featuring Pierreux on piano, Guus Bakker on bass, and Jasper van Hulten on drums, she brings a warm, soul- and gospel-infused jazz voice to the stage — internationally celebrated, including appearances at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.