30.11.45 – 24.10.86
Johnny Dyani was born in 1945 and joined the jazz formation “Blue Notes” at the beginning of 1964 as bassist – the ensemble of five black and one white South Africans quickly gained an international reputation. The apartheid regime did not tolerate this collaboration, and on their tour to Europe in 1964 the five South Africans were confronted with the decision to go into exile where they all established themselves with stellar careers. In the following years, Dyani played with many of the most important representatives of free jazz, such as Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Roswell Rudd and Archie Shepp.
Dyani wanted a South African band in which refugees and musicians from South Africa would come together with their European counterparts. The renewed state of emergency, brutally implemented ten years after the student uprising in Soweto, triggered the formation of the Jazz Against Apartheid Project.
His composition grandmothers Teaching describes how he was brought up by his grandmother. Johnny’s father was stationed outside East London. Johnny grew up in a musical home and neighbourhood. His brothers played music. Books including “Mbizo” compiled and written by Lars Rassmussen describe this period. His first band was Junior Four Yanks as lead vocalist, with his friend and neighbour Tete Mbambisa. At the age of twelve and played in Dick Khoza’s group, Jazz Wizards, with MongeziFeza, Dudu Pukwana, Pinise Saul, Pat Matshikiza and Aubrey Semane. At the end of 1962, Johnny moved away from East London, PE, Grahamstown to Cape Town, where he got involved with the Blue Notes. In 1964 the Blue notes left South Africa for Europe – France and Britain. In 1966 Johnny Dyani and Louis Moholo have a break away tour to Buenos Aires. From here a tradition of European South African free-jazz evolves. In 1986 Jürgen Leinhos and his Frankfurt-based initiative “Kultur im Ghetto” (Culture in the Ghetto) invited Dyani to perform in the Jazz Against Apartheid Program. Dyani died shortly after the opening concert. Dyani fathered three children, and has several grand children. Dyani was close friends with Pinise Saul and Dudu Pukwana in Scandinavia where he lived much of his life in exile.