SA Jazz legends in EFG London Jazz Festival 11-20 November

Abdullah Abrahim

Tue 15 Nov, Barbican

• The South African pianist returns to London. Expect a mesmerising evening from a master musician. Any performance from Cape Town’s jazz hero is a journey through a lifetime’s experience; the musical melting pot of his upbringing (gospel and jive, American jazz and classical music, sacred and secular) and the music of his jazz heroes (Ellington and Coltrane amongst them) all skillfully embroidered by his free-flowing piano invention. ‘People don’t like Abdullah Ibrahim, they adore him, bestowing on him the devotion normally reserved for Nina Simone’ – The Guardian
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Native Rebel Recordings presents: The Brother Moves On, Chelsea Carmichael, CoN & KwAkE

Tue 15 Nov, Earth

• A special night in collaboration with Native Rebel Recordings, the record label from multi-reed player and cultural instigator, Shabaka Hutchings. With sets from three Native Rebel artists, The Brother Moves On, Chelsea Carmichael and CoN & KwAkE. The Brother Moves On are part of a powerful lineage of South African protest music – the ‘most important band in the country’ according to SA publication Platform. Their album Tolika Mtoliki made Apple Music’s top releases for 2021. Saxophonist, composer and arranger Chelsea Carmichael is a warm and hypnotic player who brings subtle and considered improvisation to everything she does. Her debut album The River Doesn’t Like Strangers was the first release on Native Rebel Recordings in 2021. CoN & KwAkE is a partnership of Confucius MC and Kwake Bass. Melding together hip-hop elements to spoken word aspects CoN&KwAkE utilise the flexibility offered by jazz with an intimate, experimental quality on their forthcoming debut album Eyes In The Tower.
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Justin Lee-Schultz

Sat 19 Nov, Powerhaus

• Justin-Lee Schultz, the 15-year old musical prodigy from Johannesburg, started playing piano at the age of 5 and received an endorsement from Yamaha, South Africa that same year. Some recent highlights include sharing the stage with T-Pain, Jacob Collier, Steve Vai, and many more. At age 15, there are no limits to where Justin can take his career. One thing is for sure, the journey is going to be a wild ride. Support comes from UK saxophonist, producer & composer Alex Bone. Blending electronic music and jazz with a whimsical pop sensibility, Alex is the winner of the inaugural BBC Young Musician Jazz Award, the British Jazz Awards Rising Star as well as the Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize.
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Nduduzo Makhathini

Sun 20, Jazz Café

• From growing up in the lush and rugged hills of umGungundlovu in South Africa, to touring the world as one of Blue Note’s most renowned artists, Nduduzo Makhathini is one of the most talented musicians of our generation. Makhathini draws influence from the ancient tradition of the Zulu, whose warrior code is deeply reliant on music for motivation and healing, entwining such ideologies with the skills he has acquired from the legends of South African Jazz. His 2017 album Ikhambi was the first to be released on Universal Music South Africa and won Best Jazz Album at the South African Music Awards (SAMA) in 2018. His Blue Note debut, Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds, was named one of the “Best Jazz Albums of 2020” by The New York Times.
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