Saxophonist Darius Jones and pianist Nduduzo Makhathini view improvisation as a tool for accessing the memories and histories of their peoples, as well as the spiritual dimension of music. The former draws upon the African American experience, while the latter looks to Zulu heritage and South African jazz. Neither artist merely reconstructs the past; instead, both translate it into a personal, contemporary language where tradition becomes a living source of artistic freedom.

Darius Jones is an American alto saxophonist and composer. He quotes Ornette Coleman, Roscoe Mitchell, and Sun Ra as his mentors, while also drawing inspiration from gospel and Black music. His work is simultaneously surprising and familiar, balancing moments of chaos with passages of clarity, passages where the groove takes centre stage. Jones’s latest album, Legend of e’Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye), released in 2024, features double bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Gerald Cleaver. It is the seventh disc of Man’ish Boy, a monumental nine-album series through which Jones is gradually crafting a multi-layered epic chronicling the history of the African American community.

The second part of the evening will feature a world premiere commissioned by Jazztopad and composed by Nduduzo Makhathini. Modalities of Same-ness: Unity Suite, a work for piano and string quartet, will be performed by the composer himself alongside the Lutosławski Quartet. Makhathini is a South African pianist and composer whose work is rooted in both jazz and Zulu musical traditions. In his work, he combines these elements with ritual, spirituality, and cultural memory, seeking a sound that, as he puts it, leads him home and evokes a spirit of community. He is accompanied by the Lutosławski Quartet, one of Poland’s leading string quartets; established in 2007, the ensemble focuses on 20th- and 21st-century music, blending the classical repertoire with premieres and elements of improvisation.