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Tutu Puoane

Song

Saphrane S62602

In the somewhat overcrowded field of contemporary female jazz-and-related-musics vocalists, Tuto Puoane, a South African-born Belgian resident who has sung with the Afro-Latino band Tucan Tucan as well as with the South African National Youth Big Band and Breda's Frits Bayens Big Band, stands out courtesy both of her understated but consistently affecting voice (an intimate, pure sound with just the right amount of tremolo) and of her range of material, which unaffectedly embraces everything from the 'hip' jazz of Bob Dorough, through the unashamed emotionalism of the torch song ('He Needs Me') and the pep of the reworked standard (an intriguingly rejigged 'You are My Sunshine'), to the grace of traditional material ('Ke A Go Leboga').

She also pays, on this subtly compelling album, a convincing visit to one of Joni Mitchell's most affecting songs, 'A Case of You', personalising it by substituting 'Africa' for 'Canada' in its second verse.

Versatile without being contrivedly eclectic, and profoundly emotional without resorting to undue dramatics, Tutu Puoane is a singer to watch.