Bheki Mseleku

Bheki Mseleku fused elements of traditional African township music, American bebop, and his own devout, far-reaching spirituality to emerge as the premier South African jazz pianist of his generation. Born Bhekumuzi Hyacinth Mseleku in Durban, South Africa on March 3, 1955, he was the son of a music teacher. Still, the senior Mseleku was a deeply religious man who feared any of his seven children would gravitate towards a life as a professional musician and kept the family's piano locked away, eventually chopping up the instrument for firewood. Mseleku's mother nevertheless sl...