South African Soul
South African Soul
Fri 17 November 2023
Stage time / 7:00pm
Doors / 6:30pm
Celebrating the Jazz Clubs
In this highly-anticipated collaboration, South African vocalist Vuyo Sotashe and American pianist/composer Chris Pattishall, who have each contributed to a wide range of projects spanning jazz, gospel, theatre and film, come together for an intimate and soulful evening of duets.
Since moving to the USA as a Fulbright Scholar, Vuyo Sotashe has performed with celebrated jazz legends including Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jimmy Heath, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Barry Harris and Winard Harper. He has appeared at Montreux Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Fest, and Joy of Jazz, and Arcevia Jazz Festival. Described as “a bright tenor that can easily spring from sonorous depths to the full-bodied top of his impressive range” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Vuyo made his off-Broadway debut in the Public Theater's production of Black Light.
Chris Pattishall has established himself as “an expert at using the jazz tradition as a jumping off-point for experimentation” (JazzTimes) and his debut album Zodiac was called “a startling achievement” (NY Times) and “a hell of a debut album” (Stereogum). He is a featured performer on a number of film scores, including Everything Everywhere All At Once, Nightmare Alley and Knives Out, and he co-composed the score to Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. He has collaborated with artists across multiple disciplines including Michela Marino-Lerman, Simeon Marsalis, Najja Moon, Kambui Olujimi and Samora Pinderhughes.
Together, Vuyo and Chris make music with a hushed vulnerability, a quiet invocation of community during these turbulent times. In a programme that will range from the American masters of Duke Ellington and Nina Simone to South African Xhosa hymns and Stevie Wonder, they bring the healing power of music to the forefront.
Since moving to the USA as a Fulbright Scholar, Vuyo Sotashe has performed with celebrated jazz legends including Wynton Marsalis, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jimmy Heath, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Barry Harris and Winard Harper. He has appeared at Montreux Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Fest, and Joy of Jazz, and Arcevia Jazz Festival. Described as “a bright tenor that can easily spring from sonorous depths to the full-bodied top of his impressive range” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Vuyo made his off-Broadway debut in the Public Theater's production of Black Light.
Chris Pattishall has established himself as “an expert at using the jazz tradition as a jumping off-point for experimentation” (JazzTimes) and his debut album Zodiac was called “a startling achievement” (NY Times) and “a hell of a debut album” (Stereogum). He is a featured performer on a number of film scores, including Everything Everywhere All At Once, Nightmare Alley and Knives Out, and he co-composed the score to Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. He has collaborated with artists across multiple disciplines including Michela Marino-Lerman, Simeon Marsalis, Najja Moon, Kambui Olujimi and Samora Pinderhughes.
Together, Vuyo and Chris make music with a hushed vulnerability, a quiet invocation of community during these turbulent times. In a programme that will range from the American masters of Duke Ellington and Nina Simone to South African Xhosa hymns and Stevie Wonder, they bring the healing power of music to the forefront.
