Since his first performances at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival in the early 2000s, he has collaborated with many renowned artists both locally and abroad. These include Wynton Marsalis, Shabaka Hutchings, Nasheet Waits, Somi and Black Coffee. He also had the unique opportunity to be mentored by the great pianist Bheki Mseleku.

Nduduzo’s outstanding talent has also earned him numerous awards, such as Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz in 2015, a South African Music Award (SAMA) in 2017, 2018 and 2021, an All Africa Music Award (AFRIMA) in 2017, and a Mzantsi Jazz Award (MJA) in
2017 and 2018.

Despite all his success, however, he has never forgotten his roots. In fact, his Zulu heritage plays a significant role in his music. Nduduzo, who hails from uMgungundlovu (Pietermaritzburg), KwaZulu-Natal, describes himself as a healer, an improviser and a scholar. “I
am interested in improvisations in South African jazz and fellowships with spirituality. This comes from an upbringing in a musical family and community, and the blessing of learning about sound in a ritual context.

These interests have led to a long itinerary of searching all around the world – something for which I’m very grateful,” he says. Indeed, he grew up with music at home, at church and in his community. His mother was his first piano teacher, and his father played the guitar and sang in the Maskandi (Zulu folk music) style. “I used to walk to every church in my area just to listen to the music, and I often left before the sermon began,” he recalls.

“I am deeply inspired by the healing and motivational qualities of the Zulu or African warrior code. My style of music can be described as
a fusion of spiritual jazz and modern stylings with my Zulu heritage.”

Nduduzo has released eight albums of his own since 2014, when he founded the recording label Gundu Entertainment along with his wife, the vocalist Omagugu Makhathini. Thanks to the success of his albums, he got signed by Universal Music South Africa in 2018. The very next year, he became the first South African to sign with iconic jazz label Blue Note Records for his album Letters from the Underworlds
(2020) and recently also In The Spirit Of Ntu (2022).

His inquiring mind has also led to an academic career. He is the head of Music at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape. In addition, having completed his Masters degree in Music at Stellenbosch University, he is currently also enrolled as a PhD candidate at Maties.

“I approach music with much broader questions of being. I am fascinated by questions. I believe that if you engage with anything deep enough, you will always reach a sense of even deeper inquiry. In essence, we are not only driven by reaching concrete ends, but also by how our journeys lead us to new questions,” he philosophises. “For my PhD in particular, I am researching improvised music in
South Africa within African cosmologies.”

He credits his wife for enabling him to juggle performing, composing, teaching and learning. “I’m blessed to have a supportive partner. She is an incredible artist herself, but has been selflessly supporting my journey for many years. She makes everything possible, and I love her deeply.”

Looking to the future, Nduduzo would love an opportunity to travel to West Africa to learn about the practices of that region’s griots, who function as storytellers, singers, musicians and oral historians. “I feel there are many aspects to the griots’ practices that mirror my own. So, I’m excited by the possibility to learn more.”

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