Nduduzo Makhathini


Nduduzo Makhathini is a South African jazz musician from Umgungundlovu, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Coming from a musical family, his love for music began at an early age. Makhathini has performed with Zim Ngqawana, Simphiwe Dana, Feya Faku, and McCoy Mrubata. Nduduzo completed his Diploma in Jazz Piano at the Durban University of Technology in 2005, and obtained a PhD in music from the University of Stellenbosch in 2023.
In April 2020, his studio album Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworld was released by Blue Note. It was named one of the “Best Jazz Albums of 2020” by The New York Times, and was followed by In the Spirit of Ntu in 2022, and uNomkhubulwane in 2024.
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Contribution to Jazz Scholarship and African Epistemologies

Makhathini completed his PhD at the Africa Open Institute for Music, Research and Innovation at Stellenbosch University in 2023 with a dissertation titled Breaking into Sound: Dis/Locating Ntu Cosmology and Improvisation in South African Jazz. His research, an artistic-led inquiry, challenges conventional jazz studies by foregrounding the spiritual and cosmological dimensions of South African jazz, particularly through the concept of ntu cosmology. Makhathini argues that jazz improvisation in South Africa can be understood as a ritualistic engagement with sound that bridges physical and metaphysical realms. His work introduces alternative theoretical frameworks, including the idea of “breaking into sound” as a sonic engagement with the unseen, the bandstand as a communal and ritual space, and divination as a model for understanding improvisation. The study engages deeply with the work of South African jazz artists such as Philip Tabane, Busi Mhlongo, Bheki Mseleku, and Zim Ngqawana, while also positioning Makhathini’s own practice within these traditions. By merging academic discourse with lived experience as a jazz pianist and sangoma, Makhathini’s research contributes a unique epistemological intervention, expanding the lexicon of jazz scholarship in South Africa.

Awards and honors

Makhathini is the recipient of the 2015 Standard Bank Young Artist Award in the category of Jazz. This is part of the National Arts Festival. At the 2017 All Africa Music Awards, Makhathini won the Best Jazz Artist award. His musical output has led him to be described by Seton Hawkins of All About Jazz to be "a truly singular pianist, an astonishingly gifted composer, and a deeply nuanced thinker on the music...one of the 's most remarkable talents."

Discography

Mother Tongue with Sakhile Simani, Mthunzi Mvubu, Linda Sikhakhane, Ariel Zamonsky, Benjamin Jeptha, Ayanda SikadeSketches of Tomorrow with Sakhile Simani, Mthunzi Mvubu, Jonathan Crossley, Ayanda SikadeListening to the Ground Matunda Ya Kwanza, Vol One Icilongo – The African Peace Suite with Sakhile Moleshe, Justin Bellairs, Shabaka Hutchings, Benjamin Jeptha, Ayanda SikadeInner Dimensions - Umgidi Trio & One Voice Vocal Ensemble with Fabien Iannone, Dominic Egli, Lisette Spinnler, Jule FahrerIkhambi Reflections - solo piano Modes Of Communication: Letters From The Underworlds The Blues of a Zulu Spirit In the Spirit of Ntu
  • ''uNomkhubulwane''