Bheki Mseleku dies

Friday, September 12, 2008

Legendary South African pianist Bheki Mseleku died on Monday, apparently found by his wife after he had slipped into a diabetic coma. A big star on the UK jazz scene in the 1990s when he was Mercury-nominated for his World Circuit album Celebration Mseleku was born in Durban in 1955 and began his career in South Africa initially playing organ for an R&B band. Mseleku later moved to live in England and became an inspirational figure for the new generation of black British players. He recorded a widely admired solo album Meditations at the Bath Festival which was later picked up by Verve and Mseleku also became part of the late Joe Henderson’s touring band. In recent years Mseleku’s career had been affected by illness but he would still occasionally play clubs in the London area. His spiritual approach to jazz and spine tingling solo improvisations will be greatly missed.