Themba Mkhize

Themba Mkhize, a South African jazz pianist and singer born in Durban in 1957, began classical piano training at age seven. He discovered jazz during high school and started performing professionally in 1981 with Dukes Combo. In 1984, he joined Bayete, remaining for over ten years. Mkhize toured Africa with Jonas Gwangwa, Hugh Masekela, Dorothy Masuka, and Letta Mbulu in the musical Buwa, and served as musical director on tours with Masekela and Miriam Makeba in 1994. His own albums include Tales from the South (1999), Lost and Found (2001), and Hands On (2004), all of which won South African Music Awards. In 2009, he recorded Shosholoza with the SWR Big Band and released it in 2010. His son, Afrika Mkhize, is also a jazz pianist.