Joe's Pub Presents First Installment of a New Collaboration Between Vocalist Vuyo Sotashe and Jazz Pianist Chris Pattishall

Joe's Pub will present the first installment of a new collaboration between South African vocalist Vuyo Sotashe and North American jazz pianist/composer Chris Pattishall on Thursday, October 20. Part of New York Voices, the artist commission program at Joe's Pub, this show will be an intimate and soulful evening of duet works-in-progress. Both Sotashe and Pattishall are veterans of the NYC music and performing arts scenes, having contributed to many projects spanning jazz, gospel, theater, and film. But in this 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. Tickets are on sale now here.

Described as "a bright tenor that can easily spring from sonorous depths to the full-bodied top of his impressive range" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Sotashe made his off-Broadway debut in The Public Theater's production of Jomama Jones' Black Light and performs regularly with Esperanza Spalding. 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 revelation" (The New York Times). Together they make music with a hushed vulnerability, a quiet invocation of community in the midst of turbulent times.

This collaboration will continue throughout the 2022-23 year with more performances and the release of their debut singles and accompanying film.

New York Voices is Joe's Pub at The Public's artist commissioning program. As part of The Public Theater's long history of cultivating the country's most celebrated artists, this program supports the creation of new works by critically-acclaimed musicians and performers. New York Voices encourages artists to explore their storytelling, narratives, and songwriting processes and includes a variety of developmental and practical resources. Each commission culminates with a run of live shows on the Joe's Pub stage. The program successfully connects artists with their contemporaries and significantly expands their abilities to reach wider audiences. Many of the commissioned works have toured nationally and internationally. The 2022/2023 commissions are by Bahia Watson & Liza Paul, Chris Pattishall & Vuyo Sotashe, Daniel J. Watts & Nick Blaemire, Sunny Jain, and treya lam.