Andile Yenana

Andile Yenana ( born June 10, 1968 in King William 's Town ) is a South African jazz pianist, arranger and music producer.

Life and work

Yenana who found an early approach to jazz by the large record collection of his father, studied at Fort Hare University and graduated with a teaching degree. Only then, he enrolled in the jazz course at Darius Brubeck at the University of KwaZulu -Natal, where he met his fellow students and Feya Faku Zim Ngqawana, with whom he later played together again and again. In Durban, he founded his own band, but also played with Concord Nkabinde, Dumisane Shange and Mfana Mlabo before he became a member of Ngqawanas band was in Johannesburg, with whom he also toured in Norway, Great Britain and France ( and on five of its albums starred ). He was also internationally with Steve Dyers Mahube project on tour. He also played with Louis Mhlanga. Together with Sydney Mnisi, Marcus Wyatt, Herbie Tsoaeli and drummers Lulu Gontsana or Morabo Morajele he founded the group Voice, which recorded two albums and was in Scandinavia on tour. There, as well as on his own albums, he tried the repertoire of South African jazz to maintain, among other things, with compositions by Johnny Dyani and Dudu Pukwana. With Ngqawana and Robbie Jansen, he entered the 2004 Havana Jazz Festival.

He has also recorded with Andy Narell. As an arranger, he worked for Sibongile Khumalo, Gloria Bosman and Suthukazi Arosi. He also worked as a record producer; he received a South African Music Award as Best Producer for the recording of Winston Mankunkus album Abantwana be Africa. As Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz Yenana had the opportunity to perform with three different projects at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in 2005.

Disco Graphical Notes

• We Used to Dance ( 2002)
• Who's Got the Map? (2005)