Nomfundo pushing SA jazz boundaries

Jazz vocalist, composer and UCT lecturer Nomfundo Xaluva-Dyantyis said her path into jazz wasn’t planned; it evolved.

- NAMHLA MONAKALI

Reflecting on her journey from classical piano prodigy to respected jazz figure on and off the stage, she said: “It took about two to three years before I really started liking jazz. It was an acquired taste, but I immersed myself in the tradition, the artistry, and I fell in love.”

Xaluva-Dyantyis began learning classical piano at age 12 and continued throughout high school.

Her foundation was formal and structured, with exams focused on both piano and voice. “I was a classical-music learner right up to Grade 11 and 12, when something shifted.”

That period coincided with the advent of contemporary South African jazz icons such as Judith Sephuma, Jimmy Dludlu and Musa Manzini, who were emerging from UCT, and their influence was impossible to ignore.

“It was so appealing to me musically,” Xaluva-Dyantyis said. “We were exposed to jazz standards in our school-choir training and it planted a seed.”