Nduduzo Makhathini: In the Spirit of Ntu

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Nduduzo Makhathini is an award-winning pianist, improvisor and scholar from South Africa. He is a recipient of prestigious awards such as the Standard Bank Young Artist Award, South African Music Award (SAMA) and AFRIMA among others that have made him an influential figure. Makhathini has nine albums under his belt with his last album Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds on Blue Note Records. As an academic Makhathini is heading a music department at the historic University of Fort Hare while completing his PhD at Stellenbosch University.

Over the years, Makhathini has made a name for himself both locally and internationally both as headline and sideman, performing festivals and club concerts such as New York Winter Jazz Fest, Avo Session, Joy of Jazz, Cape Town International Jazz Festival, National Arts Festival, Blue Note Jazz Club (NY), Zinc Bar, Dizzy’s and Jazz at Lincoln Centre and Birds Eye just to name a few. Recently, Makhathini has collaborated with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis touring the US, South Africa and Vienna. While in the past, he has performed with musicians such as Stefon Harris, Logan Richardson, Zim Ngqawana, Nasheet Waits, Hugh Masekela, Somi and Billy Harper among many others.

Makhathini also has been doing collaborations with alternative artists such as the popular DJs such Black Coffee and Dacapo. He has also produced albums for singer-song writters such as Msaki and Thandiswa Mazwai.

Makhathini was schedule for a huge US and EU tour to promote his new album but due to COVID-19 he was unable to travel. Ironically Makhathini has been trending on the social media performing from his home as part of online international festivals such as Worldwide Music for Our Cultures, Act for Music and an exclusive performance for NPR Music. Quite recently Makhathini was announce as one of the recipients of the Jazz Coalition commission to create an improvised work (this work is available on his Facebook page). Finally, Makhathini has been collaborating online with Brazilian artist Hamilton De Holanda. It is with this background that Makhathini requests to be one of the Yamaha Artists. Makhathini seeks to ensure integrity for the brand, but also to represent the way in which Yamaha are responding to the current challenges of artists in Africa during and post the pandemic.

To read more about Makhathini from some of the largest jazz magazine, see links below;

Articles:

https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/modes-of-communication-letters-from-the-underworlds

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8549673/nduduzo-makhathini-blue-noterecords-

south-africa-interview

https://www.wsj.com/articles/modes-of-communication-letters-from-the-underworlds-bynduduzo-

makhathini-an-exploration-of-inherited-traditions-11588794062

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2020-02-16-its-a-beautiful-connectionnduduzo-

makhathini-joins-top-us-jazz-record-label/

https://jazztimes.com/features/profiles/nduduzo-makhathini-divining-signs/

https://www.jazziz.com/walk-spirit-talk-spirit-how-south-african-pianist-nduduzomakhathini-

won-over-wynton-marsalis-and-the-world/

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/23/861493308/nduduzo-makhathini-and-omagugu-makhathinialone-

together-duets

https://www.wbgo.org/post/pianist-nduduzo-makhathini-guides-us-find-healing-vibrationsour-

moment-crisis

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdIlZXlM2Wg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZEX0uACd64

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU-2kgcdAGE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTr5a93n4fw

Social Media:

https://www.instagram.com/nduduzo.makhathini/

https://www.facebook.com/nduduzomakhathinimusic/

https://twitter.com/nduduzo_m

http://www.bluenote.com/artist/nduduzo-makhathini/