On his new trio album, South African jazz pianist Nduduzo Makhathini manages the feat of calming down without releasing tension.
In the Zulu creation story, the child of God is a daughter named uNomkhubulwane, who brings water to the people. This is also the name of the new album by 41-year-old South African jazz pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, his third on the Blue Note label: “uNomkhubulwane”. He returns to his beginnings, when he did not go into the studio with large ensembles, but rather solo or in a trio. And this shows the strength with which he attracted attention via video channels in the global north back then, when he had not yet released albums on legendary New York labels and was being passed around by the big jazz festivals.