Vuyo Sotashe and Chris Pattishall

South African vocalist Vuyo Sotashe and Grammy-nominated American pianist/composer Chris Pattishall come together for an intimate and soulful session of duets in this highly anticipated collaboration, “Songs of Protest and Peace.” Both Sotashe and Pattishall have been integral parts of the vibrant NYC music scene for the past decade, contributing to numerous projects spanning jazz, gospel, theater and film.

Since moving to the U.S. as a Fulbright Scholar, 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 Festival, Joy of Jazz Festival, and more. 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" (New York 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.

Together, they make music with a hushed vulnerability, a quiet invocation of community in the midst of turbulent times. In a program that will range from the American masters of Duke Ellington and Nina Simone to South African Xhosa hymns and Stevie Wonder, Sotashe and Pattishall bring the healing power of music to the forefront.