Every metamorphosis begins in the dark. That idea sits at the centre of The Butterfly Project, the new album from jazz vocalist, songwriter and producer Miriam Altman, which she brings to the stage on Sunday afternoon, 18 October, at the Wits Theatre in Johannesburg.

Altman's music resists easy filing. The Butterfly Project blends contemporary vocal jazz with soul, poetry and African rhythmic influences, all anchored by a classical vocal foundation. The album traces a deeply personal journey through darkness, resilience and renewal. The butterfly of the title is the arc of the record: confinement, struggle, then flight.

Altman did not make the record alone. It was co-produced with award-winning pianist and producer Luyanda Madope, and it draws on a roll call of South African jazz musicians: Tlale Makhene, Tendai Shoko, Dalisu Ndlazi, Sunnyboy Mthimune, Lungile Kunene and Kuki Mokubetsi. That ensemble is a statement in itself. It places Altman inside the living tradition of South African jazz rather than beside it.

The concert is billed as an intimate and uplifting evening of contemporary jazz, powerful storytelling and musical transformation. Despite the billing, the show is an afternoon one. It celebrates the arrival of the album and, in the words of the organisers, an exciting new voice on the South African jazz stage.

An early start suits the material. A record about emerging from darkness is well served by a matinee, and the Wits Theatre is the kind of room in which a vocalist and a close-knit band can speak quietly and be heard.

Details: Miriam Altman x The Butterfly Project. 18 October 2026, Wits Theatre, Johannesburg. Doors 14:00, show 15:00. Tickets from Quicket, from R171.