Closing concert: Wrapped in Rythm

South African singer Tutu Puoane, originally from Mamelodi (Pretoria), has become one of the most captivating voices of her generation. Based in Antwerp since 2004, she gained international acclaim through collaborations with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Metropole Orkest, and John Clayton, among others. She’s won several South African Music Awards, notably for The Joni Mitchell Project and Mama Africa. A versatile artist, she also shines on stage with KVS productions such as Dear Winnie and Mimi’s Shebeen. In 2024, she released Wrapped In Rhythm, a double album inspired by Lebo Mashile's poetry, earning three South African Jazz Awards. On stage, her charm, humour, and soulful voice transcend genres and leave a lasting impression.

Ewout Pierreux was born in 1978 in Halle, near Brussels in Belgium and studied piano in the last five years of the previous millennium at the jazz department of the Lemmensinstituut (now LUCA School Of Arts) in Leuven with some of the very best musicians on the Belgian and European scene – Ron Van Rossum, Bert Joris, Frank Vaganée, Dré Pallemaerts, Philippe Aerts a.o. He plays and writes music, mostly in jazz and jazz-related surroundings, and does sideman work for several (mostly Belgian based) projects. Most important people or bands he works with are Tutu Puoane, Rebirth::Collective, Jelle Van Giel’s ‘Close Distance’, Marjan van Rompay, Hnita Big Band & Small World (a cooperative project with South African trumpet player Marcus Wyatt). He spent a few years playing keys (and singing some backing vocals) in Flemish pop singer Eva De Roovere’s live band. He writes songs and arrangements, and is getting more and more into general music production and booking. As an educator, he teaches jazz piano and ensemble at De Kunsthumaniora, an arts high school in Antwerp, preparing talented youngsters for music college. Together with Tutu, they own their company SoulFactory, which houses an independent booking platform and record label dedicated to jazz and improvised music. Within this structure he takes care of the general management, bookings and production of our music and some external projects they love and try to support.