Heritage meets improvisation

Celebrating 10 years since her debut, jazz musician Thandi Ntuli talks about lineage, artistic vision and the practices that sustain her creativity

- 

didn’t really have a sense of what our culture is based on the environment we grew up in. Music has been such a place of learning for me.

“And so I feel, like, for an artist who is conscious about the fact that their music has an impact on people, it becomes important to refine what kind of artist you want to be.

“Bringing in Baba Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse and Alec Khaoli is my way of grounding that vision, of saying I want to express myself but also really draw from the past to learn from the best aspects of it.”

This idea of conscious artistry, of asking again and again what kind of artist you want to be, is central to Ntuli’s approach. It extends beyond her music to her daily practices, the inner work she does to sustain herself for the long haul. She admits even with passion, discouragement is inevitable.

“A lot of people think that just because you're doing something you're passionate about, you don’t ever come into feeling discouraged.

“But we do go through slumps. For me, I'm aware that sometimes you just ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But, at the same time, when I don't do this, I cannot cope.