THERE must have been a strong sense of déjà vu when pianist Bokani Dyer (Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz in 2011) walked away with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) Overseas Scholarship for Jazz last week. This was 27-year-old Dyer’s second outing as a finalist in the contest: in 2009, he was runner-up, and he used that smaller prize to fund a trip to New York and classes at the Manhattan School of Music. The Samro award provides R170,000 to fund postgraduate music studies.Dyer works both with "conventional" jazz groups — although there is little conventional about his very personal piano voice — and with Plan Be, a soul-groove ensemble featuring Goldfish vocalist Sakhile Moleshe.Listing influences as diverse as Chopin, Ravel and Debussy, as well as Joshua Redman and Jason Moran, he has told music writer Evan Milton that his development has been characterised by a growing understanding of "what I really want the music to say".Dyer has released two albums as ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.