Jimmy Dludlu (born 17 November 1966) is a Mozambican jazz musician.

Early life

Dudludlu grew up in

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and started playing guitar at 13 years old when he taught himself with a homemade guitar. His style encompasses a wide range of influences, combining both traditional and modern elements of jazz, inspired by Wes Montgomery,

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

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to South African heroes such as

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

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, Themba Mokwena and Allen Kwela, among others. Dludlu is particularly fond of the sounds of West and Central Africa, as well as Latin America, but states that jazz remains his favorite. His many original compositions fall into the tradition that can be loosely classified as Afro-jazz. Jimmy Dludlu's debut album, Echoes from the Past (PolyGram, 1997), was released in September 1997 to widespread critical acclaim.The album earned Jimmy two FNB SAMA Awards for ''"Best Newcomer"'' and ''"Best Contemporary Jazz Album"'' in 1998, and sales figures in January 1999 indicated sales of over 250,000 records.The album has since been released by the

Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...

label in nine countries, including the

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Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Awards

* South African Music Award ''"Best Newcomer"'' 1997. * South African Music Award ''"Best Contemporary Jazz Album" 1998.'' * Metro FM Award ''"Best Jazz Album".'' * South African Music Award Lifetime Achievement Award 2022.

Discography

Albums

* ''Echoes from the Past'' (1997) * ''Essence of Rhythm'' (2000) * ''Afrocentric'' (11 Maart 2002) * ''Corners of my Soul'' (2005) * ''Portrait'' (17 September 2007) * ''Sound And Vision'' (29 Augustus 2008) * ''In The Groove'' (2 March 2016)

Singles

* ''Winds of Change''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dludlu, Jimmy Living people 1966 births Mozambican guitarists Mozambican jazz musicians 20th-century Mozambican musicians 21st-century Mozambican musicians