Tutu Puoane at Hugh's Jazz Club

Originally from Mamelodi, a township in Pretoria, South Africa, singer Tutu Puoane moved to the Netherlands in 2002 to pursue her studies and has been based in Antwerp, Belgium since 2004. Over the years, she has captured audiences internationally through notable collaborations with artists and ensembles such as the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Bert Joris, the Flemish Philharmonic, Bart Peeters, the Metropole Orkest, the WDR Big Band, Tineke Postma, and Reggie Washington & Black Lives: From Generation To Generation. In her home country, she received two South African Music Awards—one for her album Quiet Now (2010) and another for Mama Africa (2011), recorded as a soloist with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra. In Europe, she gained widespread recognition with The Joni Mitchell Project (2016), a deeply personal tribute to the songs and poetry of the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. She also achieved mainstream popularity in Belgium with the duet hit Dicht Bij Mij alongside Flemish pop star Bart Peeters.

In April 2022, Puoane was invited by Germany’s WDR Big Band to collaborate with renowned American bassist and arranger John Clayton. Later that summer, she appeared as one of the featured soloists with the internationally acclaimed Metropole Orkest, conducted by Vince Mendoza, during a concert series celebrating the 100th birthday of Belgian harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans. Beginning in 2019 and continuing through the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked on a major album project inspired by the poetry of fellow South African Lebo Mashile, composing original songs based on poems from Mashile’s debut anthology In A Ribbon Of Rhythm. The first installment, Wrapped In Rhythm, Vol. I, was released internationally on March 15, 2024 (digital, CD, and vinyl) and produced by legendary American producer and musician Larry Klein, known for his work with Herbie Hancock, Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, and Thomas Dybdahl. The album was launched with a successful release tour across Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and the UK, including highlights at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London, Bimhuis in Amsterdam, and De Roma in Antwerp. In August 2024, the album won three South African Jazz Awards in Soweto, Johannesburg: Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Best International Jazz Album, and Best Female Artist.

Before releasing the second part of the project, Puoane reunited with Bart Peeters for 20 sold-out anniversary shows at the 7,000-seat Lotto Arena in Antwerp in December 2024 and April 2025. The follow-up album, Wrapped In Rhythm, Vol. II, was released in September 2025 and features a collaboration with the celebrated Metropole Orkest, conducted by Portuguese-American director Jacomo Bairos, with arrangements by Belgian trumpet player and composer Bert Joris.

CHRONOLOGY TUTU PUOANE

2007 debut album ‘Song’

2010 South African Music Award for ‘Quiet Now’, her second album

2011 South African Music Award for ‘Mama Africa’ with Brussels Jazz Orchestra

2016-2017 Tour ‘The Joni Mitchell Project’ (Belgium/The Netherlands/Europe)

2021 Tour ‘It Might As Well Be Swing’ with Rebirth::Collective (Belgium)

2022 WDR Big Band (Germany) with John Clayton (USA)

2022 Metropole Orkest & Brussels Jazz Orchestra ‘Toots Thielemans

100’ (Belgium/The Netherlands)

2023 Tour ‘Anything Goes’ (Belgium)

2024 album ‘Wrapped In Rhythm, Vol. I’

2024 3 South African Jazz Awards for ‘Wrapped In Rhythm, Vol. I’

2025 album ‘Wrapped In Rhythm, Vol. II’ feat. Metropole Orkest

More info : www.tutupuoanemusic.com / www.soulfactory.be

Doors open at 18:00

The show begins promptly at 19:30

Please refer to our website for FAQ's.

www.hughs.co.za