Kesivan Naidoo is unarguably the most eminent
South African drummer of his generation.
Say, what?
Well, this is a cat who honed his sure-fire feel for sonic spectacle with a roll call of South African jazz masters from the iconic Miriam Makeba, pianists Hotep Galeta and Bheki Mseleku to saxophonists Winston Mankunku and Zim Ngqawana, drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo and beyond. It is his reverential feel for history, space and place that Naidoo channelled in his seminal 2014 album, Brotherhood. At a sold-out Carnegie Hall premiere, no less. Dig it?
Fast forward to 2024 and the Basel-based Naidoo is reimagining ‘Brotherhood’ as a Big Band experience, mainlining his signature modal Afro-Indo modulations, shadowy cinematic improvisations and more into a (r)evolutionary jazz vernacular.
(Miles Keylock, former editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone Magazine)