RooM 122

Kesivan Naidoo’s music has been hailed by critics as “majestic playing, mind-blowing listening”
and “the birth of a new South African jazz sound”. When he performs, venues are packed with
eager ears and excitement. Born in 1979 in East London, South Africa Kesivan was one of the first
non-white students in a formerly white school. He fell in love with jazz at the age of 10 and started
performing professionally at 14. Born into the generation of “freedom children”, he used music
to celebrate the liberation his elders fought so hard to achieve. Kesivan’s sound is rooted in the
art of improvisation, in rapturous expression and radical invention—and most importantly, in
listening.
Over the past 25 years, he’s forged relationships across the world. He's performed in Africa,
Europe, Asia, and America with jazz luminaries including: Dave Liebman, Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano,
Tarus Marteen, John Patitucci, Maria Schneider, Miriam Makeba, Bheki Mseleku, Zim Ngqawana,
Feya Faku, Rene McLean, Jimmy Dludlu, Judith Sepumba, Hotep Galeta, Steve Newman and Carlo
Mombelli, Bruce Cassidy, Winston Mankunku and more. He’s also honed his diverse musical
vocabulary anchoring innovative groups including Tribe (traditional jazz), Golliwog (funk), Closet
Snare (electronic jazz), Babu (world music) and Beat Bag Bohemia (Swiss-Southern African
collaboration of four drummers, contemporary classical music).
Kesivan graduated from the University of Cape Town with a BA in Music. In 2000 he won the
SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition which gave him the opportunity to spend one year
studying under Prof. Sanjoy Bandopadhyay in India.
As the Creative Director of Silent Revolution Music, Kesivan is also a music activist and has
composed for feature films and documentaries. In 2001 he won a SAFTA (South African Film and
Television award) for Best Music Composition in a Feature Film. The following year, he won the
UCT Honors (University of Cape Town) counsel scholarship. In 2009 he was the winner of the
South African Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year. In 2010 he released his first album
“Instigators of the Revolution” with his band “Kesivan and The Lights”. The album was nominated
for a SAMA (South African Music Awards).
In December 2011 Kesivan co-founded the jazz club Straight No Chaser. As a popular live
performance space in Cape Town, it was voted one of the 150 great jazz venues of the world by
Down Beat Magazine. In October 2014 Kesivan and The Lights performed to standing ovations at
the international launch of the album Brotherhood at Carnegie Hall. In 2016 (with the
Oppenheimer Memorial trust scholarship), Kesivan graduated with his Master’s degree from
Berklee College of Music, Global Jazz Institute in Boston, USA under the supervision of Grammy-
winning pianist Danilo Perez in 2016. Kesivan now lives in Basel, Switzerland. His latest project is
a collaboration with Adrian Mears to arrange 10 of Kesivan’s compositions for the Swiss Jazz
Orchestra (commissioned by Pro Helvetia) which will be premiered in November 2022. He has
been an endorsee of Zildjian cymbals for the past 12 years.