One of the most acclaimed jazz musicians to emerge from the current South African scene, Bokani Dyer has a compelling piano style rooted in churchly uplift, folkloric lyricism and deep harmonic fluency.
He has lately branched out into a crossover mode with vocals, notably on his album Radio Sechaba β but during a recent one-nighter at Chris' Jazz Cafe, he led an acoustic trio with Timothy Norton on bass and Lumanyano Mzi on drums. This was a WRTI Live event, and we're pleased to bring it to you on this week's Sunday Rotation, at 8 p.m. ET.
Here is video of "Hyacinth," Dyer's dedication to the South African pianist, saxophonist, guitarist and arranger Bheki Mseleku, who died in London in 2008.
Earlier this year we lost another great South African pianist β arguably the greatest, Abdullah Ibrahim. We asked Dyer to speak briefly about the influence and legacy of this great musician, and here is what he had to say.
