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Nduduzo Makhathini | Essential albums and listening guide
Explore Nduduzo Makhathini through Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds. Discover what to listen for and follow related styles to your next record.
Nduduzo Makhathini
Meet the artist
A pianist and composer deeply rooted in the music and rituals of South Africa. Through repetitive phrases, songs, and the sounds of percussion instruments, he weaves together connections to ancestors and memories of the community into his improvisations. Repeated piano figures join voices and percussion in a space larger than an individual solo.
Improvisation remains connected to South African language, ritual and memory. Strong motion and inward reflection coexist as themes return with changing significance. Connections to American spiritual jazz are audible, but local cultural roots give the music its own outline. Repetition offers a way into music understood as a bond between people.
Where to start listening
Notice the piano's repeating motions and the moments when the band seems to breathe together. Hear the melody within the full texture of bass and percussion.
2020Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds
Nduduzo Makhathini
Blue Note’s works that delve into the music and spiritual culture of South Africa. The repetition of piano melodies, combined with wind instruments and vocal responses, create music that evokes a sense of connection to ancestors.
Open this album in the Atlas →
2022In the Spirit of Ntu
Nduduzo Makhathini
A work that explores the relationship between community and music, with as its subject matter the South African concept of “Ntu”. The cyclical movements of piano and ensemble blend together, creating a sense of prayer and improvisation.
Open this album in the Atlas →
Years follow the Atlas catalogue. Recording dates, original release dates and digital reissue dates may differ.