FRIDAY SET | TUTU PUOANE

Singer Tutu Puoane (born in Pretoria, South Africa but living in Antwerp, Belgium since 2005) walked around with the poetry book In A Ribbon Of Rhythm by her compatriot Lebo Mashile under her arm for almost a decade. Mashile's poetry offers unique and very personal insight into the reality and emotional world of a young black African woman of South Africa's first post-Apartheid generation. The poems made a deep impression on Tutu, and every time she read them, she heard music. She ended up writing a bunch of songs based on some of her favorites from Mashile's collection. The result is an original repertoire at her own African intersection of jazz, singer- songwriting, and soul. This music forms the basis for a double album project titled 'Wrapped In Rhythm', the first volume of which was released in March 2024 in a production by American musician/bassist/ producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Thomas Dybdahl, Herbie Hancock, ...) and which has since been received very warmly, including 3 South African Jazz Awards in Tutu's home country (Best Female Artist 2024, Best International Jazz Album 2024, Best Contemporary Jazz Album 2024)
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