Mandisi Dyantyis Places His Voice at the Nexus of Lived Experience & Jazz

The late afternoon sun illuminated the unusually serene courtyard of Rosebank’s Universal Studios as I walked across it to meet and interview Mandisi Dyantyis, a pivotal figure in contemporary South African music, known for his fusion of jazz, Western classical, and African indigenous music. The multi-award-winning artist has a reputation for operating with a quiet confidence that garners him immeasurable respect. I sensed it and was slightly intimidated but resolved to pick his brain about his relationship to jazz and choosing to use his voice.

Born in Gqeberha in 1984, Mandisi Dyantyis began playing the trumpet at age 8. “I grew up in a very normal house, lots of people. Your mothers in the mix, your uncles are in the mix,” he recalled with a smile that spoke of warmth and nostalgia. Speaking of his formative years in the township of New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, he said, “I remember a time when there was a lot of musical programs, you know, in churches, in cultural groups… You used to have ballroom on Wednesdays, boxing, and there were choirs.”

I asked about singing. “My people sing. My people don’t know instruments… So, when I sing, it’s as natural as possible,” said Dyantis. For him, “it’s all just part of the storytelling […] when we didn’t know how to say it, we said it in song.” The multi instrumentalist was most exalting of the human voice. “The most powerful instrument we have is often the one we’re born with – our voice.” His vocal style, influenced by being raised among women, intentionally speaks to gender norms, “Men in my culture don’t sing the way I sing… but they sing nonetheless.”

Mandisi Dyantyis

I then shifted the convo to language and Dyantis reflected, “Language in a way that we don’t speak about has a lot to do with who you are […] When you sing in your mother tongue, you are reclaiming your space […] You’re saying, ‘This is who I am. This is where I come from.’” I wanted to know what even inspires him to write in the first place. He said, “I write songs when I’m running, when I’m walking, when I don’t want to write songs,” he laughed, “It’s not about finding the perfect moment; it’s about being present, about allowing the music to find you.”

Dyantyis earned a BMus Honors Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2005 and returned to complete a Master’s degree with distinction in 2024. His formal introduction to jazz performance began with the UCT Big Band. He learned that, “Jazz is about finding your voice. It’s about taking what you’ve been given and making it your own.” This is where he began blending his influences. “I grew up in the church […] I studied classical music, choral music, and then I was introduced to jazz. All of these things are a part of me.

Jazz […] was kind of a music that was receptive to different cultures. When you go to Cuba, they play jazz in their own way, and when it came here, you know, guys played it in their own way.” For Dyantis, whose upbringing made genre bending inevitable, embracing this multitude of influences had its challenges. “Classical musicians would say it’s not really classical music. Jazz musicians would say it’s not really jazz. African musicians say it’s not really African. But it’s me.”

Mandisi Dyantyis

Dyantyis’s critically acclaimed debut album, Somandla (2018), featured a blend of jazz, classical, and African indigenous sounds. This was followed by Cwaka (2021), with narratives of love, loss, and longing. I asked about the creative evolution between these albums, and Dyantis dismissed the idea of a deliberate separation, explaining, “I’m very comfortable […] I always write like an author. It’s all about the story. […] In the first place, you didn’t have control over this thing, so you can’t control it. […] But all of this is a part of the process.”

Of course, I couldn’t help but draw his attention specifically to Molo Sisi (2018),” noting how it evokes so much softness in the most unexpected spaces. Dyantis responded, “I remember people who were soft, you know? Who said the nicest things, who had the most beautiful lines to say […] I saw them, you know?” He contrasted this gentle masculinity with today’s more aggressive expressions, observing, “We’re in an era that sometimes, it’s like hip hop. You know, yeah. Very aggressive. We must understand that some things are not naturally us.”

As a musical director and associate director for the Isango Ensemble Theatre Company since 2006, Dyantyis’s career is marked by significant achievements. He earned a nomination for the NAACP Award for Best Musical Director. He has toured extensively and collaborated with notable musicians. In 2010, he served as Artist in Residence at New York University, and he performed at Herbie Hancock’s International Jazz Day Global Concert in both 2021 and 2024 and was even a leading composer for the Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story (2023) film.

Dyantyis has gained widespread media recognition, being the cover star for publications like GQ South Africa and Manmagazine. This month alone, he’s already performed at the Market Theatre and the SA State Theatre, where his jazz orchestra played to sold-out audiences. “I go on stage and I give everything. And that’s just that,” he said about what we can expect on stage. Get your tickets for one of Mandisi Dyantyis’s popular performances, such as the highly anticipated Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, before they too sell out.

Upcoming performances include: