18th December Reza Khota

Reza has matured into a guitarist with a distinct voice and performs with a musicality and technical facility that recalls the rich history of the instrument. He is equally comfortable performing composed and improvised music. The guitarist performs regularly at festivals such as the Joy of Jazz Festival and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. He was the composer and guitarist for the crossover band Babu, which was regarded by many as one of the most cutting edge Jazz/World music ensembles in South Africa at the time. In 2008, Babu released their debut album Up Roots (nominated by the Mail and Guardian as one of the top 20 SA albums of the decade). The band has since been nominated for two Sama awards and conducted a successful tour of South Africa funded by Mmino. In 2009 Babu also conducted a successful tour of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and a year later in Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Madagascar.nnReza has also collaborated with people in the world of fine arts, most notably in performance pieces by William Kentridge and Nicholas Hlobo. He currently plays with the cream of young SA Jazz musicians in bands such as: Kesivan and the Lights who played to a standing ovation at New Yorks prestigious Carnegie Hall in October 2014 as well as the Shane Cooper Quintet who’s album “Oscillations” received widespread praise from local and international press. In addition to being a sideman in these bands Reza has his own quartet featuring Jonno Sweetman, Shane Cooper and Buddy Wells who released there debut album: Transmutation in early 2014. Reza was an artist in residence in Bern, Switzerland from Oct – Dec 2013, and is currently an artist in residence at UWC’s Center for Humanities Research. He recently composed music based on Derek Grippers Kora transcriptions for classical guitar maestro John Williams.