Jimmy Dludlu

Jimmy Dludlu was born in Mozambique. His style includes wide-ranging influences, combining both traditional and modern elements of jazz drawn from among others Wes Montgomery, George Benson and Pat Metheny, to South African legends Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu, Hugh Masekela, Themba Mokwena, and Allen Kwela. He is particularly drawn to the sounds of west and central Africa, as well as Latin America. His numerous original compositions fall within the tradition of what has been loosely termed Afro-Jazz.
He has released 8 albums namely: Echoes from the Past (1997), Essence of Rhythm (1999), Afrocentric (2002), Corners of my Soul (2006), Portrait (2007), Tonota (2011), Jimmy Dludlu Live (2015), In the Groove (2016), History in a Frame (2021)
His career took off in earnest in the mid- 1980’s, when he worked with various southern African bands including Impandze from Swaziland, featuring Jamaican singer Trevor Hall, Kalahari, and Satari from Botswana, as well as Anansi, featuring the Ghanaian saxophonist George Lee. In October 1995, Jimmy and his own band C-Base Collective shared the stage with Senegalese singer and guitarist Ismaėl Lo’s African Reconnection Tour in Cape Town. With C-Base Collective, Jimmy performed two highly acclaimed shows at the 1996 Arts Alive Festival in Johannesburg, and found himself a PolyGram recording artist by the end of the year.
His debut album for PolyGram, Echoes from the Past, was released in September 1997. In March 2000, Jimmy was acknowledged by the South African music industry, winning the “Best Male Artist” category, and with “Essence of Rhythm” taking the “Best Contemporary Jazz Album” prize at the SAMA Music Awards.