Vocalist, songwriter and producer Miriam Altman brings a storyteller’s intimacy to contemporary vocal jazz infused with African rhythms. Her debut album, The Butterfly Project, arrives on 18 September 2026. The eight-track album moves from darkness through life-changing decisions to the exhilaration of renewal.

Across the album, spacious balladry and intimate vocal passages flow over jazz arrangements alive with African rhythm. Altman’s three-octave voice moves from a resonant lower register to soaring soprano lines. The ensemble balance space for the voice with the energy and interplay of the band, inviting close listening and the physical pleasure of a groove.

Co-produced with award-winning pianist Luyanda Madope, The Butterfly Project features South African musicians Tendai Shoko, Sunnyboy Mthimunye, Lungile Kunene, Tlale Makhene, Dalisu Ndlazi, Kuki Mokubetsi, Seredeal “Shaggy” Scheepers, Byron Abrahams and Keno Carelse.

The Butterfly Project emerged from a dark, tumultuous period in Altman’s life, when she faced decisions that would reshape her future. The butterfly is not just a sweet metaphor. After moving to Cape Town, she found a wall of her home covered in black caterpillars, yet few butterflies emerged. That image inspired “Butterfly”, a plea to a survivor: “how did you come to thrive?”

“The Butterfly Project is about finding the courage to change your life,” says Altman. “I wanted the music to carry the weight of those decisions and share the energy of feeling fully alive. The music enables me to express things the words alone can’t.”

“It’s Over”, the album’s jazz-funk track, turns the pain of leaving a long relationship into a sense of release. “A Spirit Awakened” expresses the return of creative energy through an ethereal sound underpinned by a propulsive jazz groove and vocal improvisation.

 

The Butterfly Project live in concert

The Butterfly Project – Live in Concert is a specially created show, shaped around the album’s movement from longing and struggle towards renewal and celebration. With grand piano and a full band, Altman brings the songs to the stage in live arrangements that make room for soaring vocals, instrumental interplay and rhythmic energy. The evening builds through changes of mood and pace, drawing the audience into the stories before opening into moments of exuberance and release.

The show comes to Wits Theatre in Johannesburg on 10 October and The Star Theatre at the Homecoming Centre in Cape Town on 5 November 2026.