Nduduzo Makhathini

Born in 1982 in the Umgungundlovu district near Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, Nduduzo Makhathini develops a musical language at the intersection of South African jazz, modal piano and a spiritual approach rooted in Zulu cosmologies. Trained at the Durban University of Technology, where he earned a jazz piano diploma in 2005, Makhathini established himself during the 2010s on the southern African jazz scene in various formats—from solo to trio and quartet—while performing with musicians such as Zim Ngqawana, Simphiwe Dana, Feya Faku and McCoy Mrubata. His discography charts this trajectory with Mother Tongue and Sketches of Tomorrow (2014), Listening to the Ground and Matunda Ya Kwanza, Vol One (2015), followed by Icilongo - The African Peace Suite and Ikhambi (2016), and the solo Reflections (2017). His arrival at Blue Note marked a new phase with Modes of Communication: Letters From the Underworld (2020), The Blues of a Zulu Spirit (EP, 2021), In the Spirit of Ntu (2022) and uNomkhubulwane (2024), albums in which his playing combines lyricism, cyclical motifs, dense improvisation and a ritual grounding.