SA jazz pianist Ntando Ngcapu to perform in Asia

Ngcapu’s tour is courtesy of the SAMRO Foundation and is intended to establish cultural exchanges between South Africa and Asia.

Ngcapu will perform alongside drummer Lungile Kunene and renowned Dutch bass player Marius Beets. The Indian dates will be followed by a couple of performances in Thailand, also in February.

While in Thailand, Ngcapu will get the opportunity to play unique adaptations of jazz standards and other well-known compositions reminiscent of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr's musical styles.

“I have been blessed with this opportunity and I will be playing my music with my long-time friend and collaborator Lungile Kunene,” Ngcapu said. “What an honour to share the stage with a veteran of this music Marius Beets from the Netherlands.

Ngcapu is the band leader of an experimental trio called The Crayons. He was raised in a music family in Soweto and began his musical journey at the Soweto Youth Music Development Workshop in 1998. Ngcapu studied visual art at the National School of the Arts, where he founded the Psalms Movement band. In 2011, Ngcapu secured a scholarship to study at Berkley College of Music.

“The work I do with The Crayons consists of me playing varied sets with different musicians. Each collaboration is different, and each performance is unique," he says.