Tutu Puoane, born on May 31, 1979 in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, South Africa, is a jazz singer who grew up in the township of Mamelodi. By 1997, she was performing in downtown Johannesburg. Puoane studied jazz vocals at the University of Cape Town, winning several awards including the Old Mutual Jazz Encounters for the Cape region in 2000 and a talent merit award in 2001. In September 2002, she relocated to Europe to study further at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands with Rachel Gould. Puoane released her debut album Song in 2007 and Quiet Now in 2009, which won the South African Music Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album in 2010. Her subsequent collaboration with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra resulted in the album Mama Africa (2010), earning them another South African Music Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album in 2011. Puoane's international performances include tours in Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Luxemburg, Switzerland, and the USA.
