There was crackling energy again in the theater café of the Fakkeltheater. Just as performers on the stage transform like chameleons from one character to another, this space breathes a different atmosphere each time in a synthesis of chamber music to jazz club. Three performers Tutu Puoane, Lissa Meyvis and Ewout Pierreux make the sparks fly back and forth with a rich and diverse offering of jazz-tinged songs.
The solo path of Tutu Puoane looks particularly beautiful. This talented South African lady is described as "one of the most exciting voices in the international jazz scene". She incorporates a Tutu-mix of African, European and American traditions. Master classical vocalist Lissa Meyvis also enjoys exploring other genres. Pianist Ewout Pierreux is their brilliant accompanist with his own way of playing piano. The trio lovingly pieced together an attractive program. They unlock the door to a world of sound full of refinement with both intimate and exuberant passages.
Being a hostess is an art. Add some music to it and it becomes the art of living. Lissa Meyvis opens with the standard Over The Rainbow in a tribute to the late Jack van Poll, also once called the father of the Antwerp jazz scene, and where it all began for Tutu and Lissa. Over The Rainbow was first sung in 1939 by young Judy Garland in the film The Wizard of Oz. In 2001 it was chosen from a list of 365 songs compiled by the American record industry as the best song of the 20th century. Meyvis performs this song very fragilely and maturely. She extracts this classic. A singer who has the ability, without becoming saccharine, to invite the audience into the intimacy of a song. To make the link with Mozart and the opera world concrete, she then performs an aria from the opera Porgy and Bess, "I Loves You Porgy", by George Gershwin. Bess is afraid that she will lose Porgy's love forever. Instrumentalist and vocalist absorb the emotional theme and manage to transform the sweet pain into sound. Just as in the primal classic Danny Boy, old Irish air, arranged by Fred. E. Weatherly.
Then it's the turn of guest of honor Tutu Puoane who immediately captivates the audience with the song When We Love based on a poem by her compatriot Lebogang Mashile. With her accompanist, Ewout Pierreux, also her husband, she sings the stars from the sky. Then Mountain Shade, a very well-known South African composition by the much too early deceased pianist Moses Molelekwa, literally a legend in South Africa, and lyrics written by the recently deceased singer Sibongili Khumalo, whom Tutu regards as her musical mother. This is followed by a loving song about their now 16-year-old daughter Mpho. Ewout Pierreux composed the music during Tutu's pregnancy and Tutu later provided the text. Not without humor, she uses charisma in a few brief interventions to ensure smooth transitions. Tutu Puoane is not only classically trained vocalist but also a natural talent. Her vocal flexibility and wide range command respect and admiration, transport the audience. Just like Ella Fitzgerald, "Queen of Jazz", she is an expert at scat singing (a vocal jazz improvisation). Together with her husband she operates in explosive creativity. His brilliant technique, sense of harmony and gift for creating vital melodies make it a feast for the ear.
The youngest repertoire of the duo Tutu Puoane and Ewout Pierreux is mainly based on poetry by Lebogang, a very great woman in South Africa. She puts her finger on inequality and injustice. After the intermission, Tutu performs with her expressive voice the song Us (Tutu Puoane / Ewout Pierreux – an original from 2011 and opening number of Tutu's album Breathe), then Dawn (Tutu Puoane / Ewout Pierreux – based on the poem This Morning), From the Outside in (Tutu Puoane / Ewout Pierreux – based on the poem Inside Outsider) and finally Together (Tutu Puoane / Ewout Pierreux – based on the poem You and I). Three poems in succession by Lebogang Mashile, the voice of the people. They deal with roots, the inequality between white and black. About those in power and feeling powerless. Songs full of pain and sparks of happiness, in a carousel of resistance and life wisdom. The poetess also opens perspectives. Tutu sings about a new social model where good qualities take over, love, patience, hope. She pours her soul into wordless vocals from high to low. Vocal acrobatics that equal the most difficult and demanding arias from the opera repertoire. Together with her husband and keyboardist, she is in a bubble. They complement each other seamlessly in improbably gifted improvisation skills.
Lissa Meyvis joins in with the spirited I Love A Piano by Irving Berlin. The discreet courtship of the piano and the pianist she colors in her inimitable impish, roguish, mimetic way.
As a finale a duet, the hit song Dicht bij mij by Bart Peeters and Tutu Puoane from a few years ago, 2014 to be precise, where Lissa takes over the part of Bart Peeters.
Tutu Puoane, Ewout Pierreux and Lissa Meyvis, a trio to relish. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart meets Ella, a high mass of musical divertimento with jazz in the leading role.
WHO: Tutu Puoane, Ewout Pierreux and Lissa Meyvis
WHAT: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart meets Ella | Fakkeltheater, in the Bellissima series
MUSIC: Harold Alden, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, E. Weatherly, Tutu Puoane, Ewout Pierreux, Moses Molelekwa, Lebogang Mashile, Sibongili Khumalo
WHERE: Fakkeltheater
WHEN: Sunday 12 February – 11am