4 minute read
Above Par
From imitating grandpa’s “magical golf sticks” to spreading the magic on global stages, multi-award-winning jazz sensation, Tutu Puoane is proof that with relentless effort, dreams can come true.
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Two-time South African Music Awards (SAMA) winner Tutu Puoane’s voice isoften described as warm, expressive, andseductive. Music critics say her artisticdepth knows no bounds. Indeed, hersmooth vocals are reminiscent of a truejazz master, and one cannot help but feelentirely captivated by her stage presence.
Puoane was born in 1979 inAtteridgeville and grew up in Mamelodi,another township in Pretoria. Growingup, she was surrounded by music andher grandfather, who was a pianist, wasthe first musician she ever knew. Inspiredby his incredible, natural musical talent,Puoane decided at a young age to followin his footsteps, and her dream to pursue acareer in music was born.
GOOD TO GREAT
“Watching my grandfather look straightahead at a music score, never oncechecking to see where his fingers weregoing, and producing beautiful melodiesand harmonies honestly made me think hewas a magician,” she recalls.
“I couldn’t get my brain around how hewas able to do that. I used to call music notes ‘golf sticks’ ’cause my grandpa played golf. Then, at around seven years old, I kind of figured out what those golf sticks were, and something inside made me promise myself that one day I’d fully understand how my grandpa was able to play like he did.”
In Puoane’s case, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, and the innate musical talent and passion that she revered in her grandfather was also in her blood. She started playing music professionally at the age of 18 in downtown Johannesburg, before packing her bags and moving to Cape Town, where she went on to study jazz vocals at the University of Cape Town.
TURNING POINTS
By the time she’d completed her studies in 2001, Puoane had already captured the attention of the bigwigs of the South African music industry, and received a merit award for young promising talent at the Daimler Chrysler South African Jazz Competition.
During the same year, she was also offered a big contract with a major South African record company. Puoane, however, had another offer that she simply could not turn down. She was presented with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by renowned Dutch pianist Jack van Poll – who was living and teaching in Cape Town at the time – to study in Europe to develop her unique talents as a jazz singer and performer.
“This offer changed the course of my life,” she recalls. “I highly doubt that I’d be where I am today if it wasn’t for Jack’s generosity. It truly gave me the lifeline I needed to be the kind of musician I am today – an independent musician.”
Puoane’s determination, courage and ability to dream big were evident back then and remain steadfast to this day.
Puoane moved to Europe and spent a year-and-a-half in the Netherlands studying with some of the best jazz masters, honing her craft and gaining the experience she needed to be taken seriously as a jazz singer. She then relocated to Antwerp, Belgium, where she met her husband, Belgian pianist Ewout Pierreux, and decided to settle there. Despite calling Belgium her home, her heart is still very much rooted in South Africa, and her music continues to delight audiences both in Europe and here at home.
So much so, that in 2004, Puoane won the coveted Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year Award, and in 2006 was one of 12 semi-finalists at the Brussels International Young Jazz Singers Competition.
CAPTIVATING GLOBAL JAZZ LOVERS
While living in Belgium, she recorded her first album, Song, which delighted audiences all over the world, particularly in South Africa, where she was part of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2008. Since then, she has gone on to perform in concerts all over the world in countries such as Italy, the United States, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
“There have been so many highlights on this journey,” she says. “Working with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, recording an album with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra, building and owning my own record label together with my partner – just to mention a few.”
Puoane’s follow-up album, Quiet Now, saw the jazz star take home a coveted SAMA Award in 2010 for Best Traditional Jazz Album, while she was awarded another SAMA in the same category for her album Mama Africa – a tribute to the great Miriam Makeba – in 2011.
Despite the musical influences of Europe, Puoane is still very much inspired by the local jazz scene in South Africa. “The musicians I work with always inspire me in the moment when we make music together,” she says. “And I find Joburg extremely inspiring. I’m often in awe of all these young, black, beautiful creative minds doing amazing things for themselves in Joburg.”
When not mesmerising audiences with her smooth sounds and pure, expressive vocals, Puoane enjoys several activities during her free time.
“I recently discovered Afrifitness on YouTube. It is absolutely my favourite thing to do every single morning when the kids are off to school. It gives me a boost of energy for the day ahead. I also enjoy movies a lot and reading a great book,”she says. And that’s not all. “When I was younger I was sure that I would become a stage actress as well as a singer. SometimesI go to auditions because that stage acting curiosity is still very much alive.”
FUTURE PROSPECTS
Jazz lovers around the world havea lot to look forward to in 2019 withPuoane performing with the Brussels JazzOrchestra at the Lincoln Centre in NewYork on 11 th February, and at Dizzy’s Coca-Cola Jazz Club on 12 th February.
This incredible African talent, withher charisma both off and on stage andher unique mix of jazz, soul and Africanmusic, is taking the music world by storm.We are proud to be following her journeyto becoming one of South Africa’s greatjazz legends.
For more information, visit www.tutupuoanemusic.com. /
By: Julie Graham
Images © Hugo van Beveren
