Musicman 1

Dudu Pukwana

Mtutuzel Dudu Pukwana was a South African saxophone player, pianist, and composer. Along with Chris McGregor, Mongezi Feza, Nikele Moyake, Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo, Pukwana was a member of The Blue Notes, the pioneering mid 1960s South African sextet. As mixed-race groups were illegal under apartheid, the Blue Notes emigrated to Europe in 1964, and eventually settled in London. Although The Blue Notes are often considered McGregor’s group, Pukwana was initially the principal composer and nearly always the leading soloist.

After The Blue Notes split in the late ’60s, Pukwana joined McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath big band, which again heavily featured his compositions and soloing. He also went on to form two groups with Feza and Moholo. The first was Assagai, an afro-rock band which recorded for the Vertigo label. The second was Spear, with whom he recorded the seminal afro-jazz album In the Townships in 1973. He later formed the group Zila, releasing albums on his own Label, Jika Records. He also guested on albums with his former Blue Notes colleague, Johnny Dyani, and played extensively with the drummer John Stevens. He died in 1990, not long after his friend and colleague McGregor