Jabu Nkosi

Jabulani Patrick Nkosi was born in Alexandra, a township in the Gauteng province of South Africa which forms part of the City of Johannesburg to legendary saxophonist and pioneer of South African Jazz Isaac 'Zacks' Nkosi and EMI session vocalist for the Dark City Sisters Kate Nkosi (née Olene) in 1954, he was the eldest son of four other siblings.

Having possessed a nimble and distinctive improvisational touch, self-taught pianist/keyboardist Nkosi developed a brilliant natural sense of harmonic vocabulary and musicianship during his early years, having also received nurturing through the practice and disciplined guidance of his father, Alexandra's legendary jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Zacks (Zakes) Nkosi.

"The son of legendary alto sax and clarinet player Zakes Nkosi, Jabu Nkosi left school at an early age and began performing jazz with friends and family. He never learned to read music but amazed fellow musicians with his intuitive grasp of harmony and other concepts.

Nkosi’s keyboard style was characterized by an infinite delicacy and his ability to improvise." – AP News

Jabu Nkosi was a member of The Anchors which was formed in March of 1968 by Ezrom Kgomo and Collins Mashigo (Mashego) after a split in an earlier Alexandra soul group simply called The Soul. At the time of their first recording ’Soul Upstairs’ (1969) most of the band members were still attending school and had included 19-year-old Jabu on organ (also known and listed under his middle name Patrick Nkosi), Anderson Nkosi (18) on lead guitar, Given Sabela (19) on bass, Condry Sequbu (Ziqubu) (who must have been 13 or 14) on rhythm guitar, and Dinah Mbatha (17) on vocals.

Soul Upstairs was recorded in March 1969 at Herrick Merrill Studios in Johannesburg and issued on the City Special label.

“The debut album by one of Alexandra's first soul groups — The Anchors. Under the influence of the Memphis Sound of groups like Booker T and the MGs, organ jive swept South Africa in the late 1960s and the Anchors were one of the earliest purveyors of this style of music. Last Time, a single (not on this LP) by the group, is featured on the excellent Next Stop Soweto Vol. 2 (2010) album, one of the best compilations in recent years.” – Electric Jive 

Jabu Nkosi was signed to the Gallo Record Label and other small labels throughout his prolific career and worked as an intuitive and forward-thinking musician who was in demand as a pianist/ keyboardist, producer, and artist. As well as being a successful solo recording artist in his own right, he also worked as a session musician throughout his career and toured the world (Southern Africa, USA,  Europe, UK) with bands such as The Drive (replacing Bheki Mseleku), Mike Makhalemele (The Peacemaker), Sakhile (Sipho Gumede, Khaya Mahlangu, with whom Nkosi recorded Phambili and toured with during the apartheid-era), Roots (with South African Tenor Saxophonist Barney Rachabane), Freeway (Abahambi), McCoy Mrubata, and worked on several recording projects with other notable Southern African artists and musicians which included the likes of Hugh Masekela, Lucky Mbatha, Sipho Gumede, Kippie Moeketsi, Thembi Mtshali (Today Tomorrow, Peace), Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Harry Belafonte, Caiphus Semenya (Streams Today, Rivers Tomorrow), Letta Mbulu, and Miriam Makeba, amongst many others. The Rough Guide to South African Music states that:

"The Drive as well as the nominally soul-styled Movers were successful examples of this type, while Sakhile achieved cult status with a following that crossed every racial boundary. These bands often spawned soloists who later became names. A good example was sax player Henry Sithole from The Drive who was tragically killed in an automobile accident at the apex of his career. Sakhile featured saxophonist Khaya Mahlangu and bassist-vocalist Sipho Gumede (who later formed Spirits Rejoice) as well as keyboard player Jabu Nkosi (who also was in the drive). All three still feature permanently in the local jazz scene". (Allingham, 1999: 665)

With a rich musical legacy underpinned by his pioneering father's self-coined motto "Our Kind of Jazz', Nkosi was a proud torch bearer who was in constant honor of his late father Zacks Nkosi. Albeit short-lived, his music career spanned over a mere four decades and proved to be abundant, as did his discography, which serves as a direct reflection of his dedication and commitment to his art, craft, and legacy as a highly respected and acclaimed musician of South African Jazz and beyond.

Jabu Nkosi Spotify

Jabu Nkosi ArtistInfo

Our Kind Of Jazz – Zacks Nkosi

Zacks Nkosi – Bandcamp

Zacks Nkosi – Wikipedia

Gear

Piano

Electronic Piano

Synths

Hammond Organ

Rhodes Piano