Nduduzo Makhathini to appear on new Blue Note Africa imprint

The visionary, South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini has announced his new project - 'In The Spirit of Ntu'

©Hugh Mdlalose
Author: Alastair SteelPublished 11th Apr 2022
Last updated 11th Apr 2022

The visionary South African pianist, composer, and healer Nduduzo Makhathini has announced his new album - In The Spirit of Ntu - which will be released on the newly formed imprint Blue Note Africa.

Blue Note Africa, which is a new imprint formed between Blue Note Records and Universal Music Group Africa, which is dedicated to signing jazz artists from across the continent of Africa, promoting the exchange of ideas that transcends borders.

In the Spirit of Ntu is Makhathini's tenth studio album, his second album to be released on Blue Note Records and the very first release on the newly formed imprint Blue Note Africa.

Makhathini's new album condenses the thematic, sonic, and conceptual notions explored over his catalog into a layered yet accessible 10-track album. Talking about the album, Makhathini says “I really felt this need to summarize everything I've done this far and put it into ‘some’ context".

A central figure of the country’s vibrant jazz scene, Makhathini has assembled a band consisting of some of South Africa’s most exciting young musicians including saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane, trumpeter Robin Fassie Kock, vibraphonist Dylan Tabisher, bassist Stephen de Souza, percussionist Gontse Makhene, and drummer Dane Paris, as well as special guests including vocalists Omagugu and Anna Widauer, and American saxophonist Jaleel Shaw.

“This project was conceived at a difficult time in South Africa, a time of confusion and conflict,” says Makhathini. “It was, once more, a period of burning fires, riots and massacres. In this sense, the music that I have composed is not surrounding these fires as a backdrop or soundtrack—these sounds are part of the discourse. They project from the burning fires until the fires stop burning. What remains is what these sounds seek to restore. Ntu as a creative force that seeks to lead us to remember our essence.”

When will Nduduzo Makhathini's In The Spirit of Ntu be released?

Nduduzo Makhathini's In The Spirit of Ntu will be released on 27 May 2022 via Blue Note Africa.

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