Charl du Plessis Trio - Clair de Lune

As one of the most unique and recognisable musical ensembles in South Africa today, the Charl du Plessis Trio has contributed to resurgence in the popularity of crossover music around the world.

Formed in 2006 the scope of the Charl du Plessis Trio's musical diversity makes their endeavours truly unique. Performing in styles ranging from classical, jazz, rock, pop to even salsa, reggae and Latin they have recorded ten independent albums. This musical unit consists of pianist Charl du Plessis, bassist Werner Spies and drummer Peter Auret.

Charl du Plessis is a Steinway Artist with an extensive performing schedule who holds a Doctorate of music from the University of Pretoria under Joseph Stanford. He is the first pianist ever to perform on Table Mountain, has performed on four continents ranging from classics with leading symphony orchestras to jazz and pop. He has performed on the stages of the Hamburg Elb philharmonie with pianist Joja Wendt and the Berlin Philharmonie for an impromptu performance with Chick Corea. He has been the collaborative pianist with singer/songwriter Nataniël since 2000 performing in more than 120 stage productions per year.

Werner Spies studied at TUT and is one of the top free-lance jazz bass players in South Africa. He is a lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology and successful young entrepreneur, co-owning the Haloa coffee shop chain in Pretoria. Werner was awarded the Master’s degree in Musicology in 2022.

Peter Auret is a specialist jazz drummer who have performed internationally with leading jazz musicians and was the drummer for the band Watershed. He is a multi-SAMA award winning sound engineer and sought-after record producer for many top South African musicians. He owns Sumo Sound recording studios in Johannesburg and is the creative director of the Sama award winning Peter Auret Trio.