Zim Ngqawana

Zimasile Ngqawana was born on 25 December 1959 in New Brighton township in Port Elizabeth, and came to music later than most. He picked up the flute for the first time at the age of 21, a late start that gave little indication of the extraordinary musical life that would follow. He went on to master alto, tenor and baritone saxophone as well, eventually becoming one of the most versatile and intellectually rigorous voices in South African jazz history.

He dropped out of school but won a place at Rhodes University regardless, later completing a diploma in Jazz Studies at the University of Natal. From there, scholarships took him to the United States, where he studied under jazz titans Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and was invited to the celebrated Max Roach and Wynton Marsalis jazz workshop. The education was world class, but Ngqawana never lost his South African identity in the process.

The most defining moment of his early career came in 1994, when he was chosen to lead the Drums for Peace Orchestra, a 100-piece ensemble, at the inauguration of President Nelson Mandela in Pretoria. It was a profound statement of trust in both the musician and the music.

His debut album San Song was released in 1996, followed by Zimology in 1998, Ingoma in 1999 and The Zimphonic Suites in 2001, each album building his international reputation further. He toured Europe and the United States with his band Ingoma, collaborated with Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim, and performed at major festivals across the globe. He later founded the Zimology Institute in Johannesburg, a school dedicated to developing the next generation of South African jazz musicians, as well as his own record label, Zimology Records.

He died on 10 May 2011 at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg, after suffering a stroke during rehearsals at his home in Troyeville. He was 51, and is survived by his wife and six children.