Bokani Dyer (born 21 January 1986), is a Motswana-

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

. He creates

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

music containing elements of electronic, R&B,

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and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

Early life and education

Bokani Dyer was born in 1986 in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

, Botswana. He moved to South Africa as a child in 1990. Dyer received piano lessons at the age of 14 and studied jazz at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

where he graduated in 2008. Following his graduation, he was awarded two international scholarships facilitating training and masterclasses with world-renowned musicians.

Career

During his studies in 2006, he was selected by Andre Peterson for a youth band that took part in a summer school in Sogne, Norway. He was also part of the Standard Band National Youth Jazz band in Grahamstown, which played in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and toured Sweden. In 2007, he founded the experimental

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo, Soul Housing Project, with the vocalist Sakhile Moleshe, which opened the National Arts Festival in

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

and performed at the Lighthouse Festival in

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. In 2009, he was runner-up in the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships competition which allowed him to travel to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

where he was tutored by pianist Jason Moran. In 2010, he released his debut album ''Mirrors''. In 2011, he released his second album, ''Emancipate the Story''. The album featured Marcus Wyatt, Buddy Wells, Ayanda Sikade, Shane Cooper, Mandla Mlangeni, Tony Paco and Mark Buchanan and was created as a result of him winning a Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz. In 2013, he won a SAMRO Overseas Scholarship during the final round of the competition. In 2014, he embarked on his first European tour with his Swiss-based quintet in Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. As a result of the tour, he was later invited to perform at the opening of the London Jazz Festival in November. In July 2015, he released his album ''World Music'' which was nominated for Best Jazz Album at the 2016

South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

. That same month, he embarked on a 10-show tour in South Africa and Mozambique with his trio, where he performed in

, King William's Town,

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

and

. In 2016, he was featured on Sisonke Xonti's debut album ''Iyonde''. He performed as a soloist at the launch of the SA/Russia Cultural Seasons in Moscow and St Petersburg. In 2017, he composed the original score for the South African film, '' Catching Feelings''. That same year, he performed at the Safaricom Jazz Festival in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

. He has also performed at the Jazzahead showcase in Germany,

Cape Town International Jazz Festival The Cape Town International Jazz Festival is an annual music festival held in Cape Town, South Africa. The first one was held in 2000 to 2005 and is recognized as the fourth largest jazz festival in the world and the largest jazz festival on the ...

, Musique en Ete Festival in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and Festival Metis in France. In 2019, he won a

South African Music Award The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...

for Best Jazz album. In 2020, he released his album ''Kelenosi''. The album was written and recorded over two months during the extended lockdown period imposed on South Africa in 2020, and was performed for the first time at Untitled Basement in

in November 2020. Explaining his album:

At the beginning of 2020, I was actually working on another album (Radio Sechaba). When lockdown hit, that wasn't possible, I didn't have contact with other musicians, there were no live shows. I was basically left to my own devices, so I started making beats by myself. "Kelenosi" means "by myself" n Setswana">Setswana.html" ;"title="n Setswana">n Setswana

Discography

* ''Mirrors'' (2010) * ''Emancipate the Story'' (2011) * ''Oscillations'' (2013) * ''World Music'' (2015) * ''Kelenosi'' (2020) * ''Radio Sechaba'' (2023)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Bokani 1986 births Living people South African pianists South African jazz musicians People from Gaborone 21st-century pianists