With Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds, hailed by the New York Times as one of the “Best Jazz Albums of 2020,” and Spirit of Ntu, named Album of the Year by Jazz Magazine and Jazz News, the virtuoso Nduduzo Makhathini has established a unique style, blending his South African roots with his admiration for the great figures of American jazz.
Pushing his spirituality further, his new album confirms the mastery of an inspired artist.
Raw Inspiration
Recorded in a trio with bassist Zwelakhe-Duma Bell le Pere and drummer Francisco Mela, it’s no wonder uNomkhubulwane is praised by critics.
With this three-movement suite, Nduduzo Makhathini unreservedly channels a mystical inspiration, in communion with “supernatural voices,” as he puts it. The result is performances that feel almost improvised, as if dictated by inner voices.
“On the African continent, spirituality is inseparable from sound and rhythm,” the artist explains in an interview. “Our repertoires are always performed during ceremonies, sacred rituals. For us, music cannot exist outside a spiritual context. Jazz carries within it that spiritual dimension that Africans transmitted to it as they crossed the Atlantic. It was a way for them to preserve the memory of their ancestors.”
The New Gem of Blue Note Africa
uNomkhubulwane is the third album produced by Blue Note Records, the legendary jazz label, and the second by Blue Note Africa, specifically dedicated to jazz on the African continent.
Launched in April 2022 as part of a partnership between Blue Note Records and Universal Music Group Africa, Blue Note Africa aims to showcase African jazz musicians and composers to a global audience.
“African music represents a major creative contribution to almost every album in Blue Note’s rich catalog,” noted American musician and producer Don Was, who heads the studio, at the partnership’s announcement. “It is therefore a great honor for us to join forces with the talented team at Universal Music Africa in this new venture. Together, we will spotlight the wonderful jazz that Africa offers today.”
