“Kesivan Naidoo is unarguably the most eminent South African drummer of his generation. Say, what? Well, this is a cat who honed his sure-fire feel for sonic spectacle with a roll call of SA jazz masters from the iconic Miriam Makeba, pianists, Hotep Galeta and Bheki Mseleku to saxophonist Winston Mankunku to drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo and beyond. It is his reverential feel for history, space and place that Naidoo channelled in his seminal 2014 album, Brotherhood. At a sold-out Carnegie Hall premiere, no less. Dig it? Fast forward to 2023 and the Basel-based Naidoo is reimagining Brotherhood as a Big Band experience. Celebrated trombonist Adrian Mears breathes beatific big band arrangements into modal Afro-Indo modulations, shadowy cinematic improvisations and more.”
(Miles Keylock, former editor of Rolling Stone Magazine)
In June/July 2023, Kesivan Naidoo is swinging back from Switzerland to South Africa with his brand-new Big Band Experience.