From February 26 to March 26, 2022, renowned South African trumpeter Feya Faku will tour the country bringing his two new albums to local audiences. The albums, Impilo (2021) and Live at The Bird’s Eye (2021), are Faku’s first releases since 2016. The two albums also come after a three-year absence from the music scene due to illness.
In 2021, after this illness, Faku went on an artist’s residency in Switzerland where he recorded Impilo with pianist David Virelles (Cuba) and bassist Fabian Gisler (Switzerland); and Live at The Bird’s Eye with his Swiss quintet featuring South African guitarist Keenan Ahrends
Having played only very few performances last year, this 2022 tour is also a career relaunch for Faku. The two albums are not only an honest documentation of the feelings and experiences of a man who thought he would never be able to play music again, they are also an expression of gratitude to the people who walked the journey with him.
“When I couldn’t play, I was almost losing it, because I can’t live without music – I can’t live without my instrument. I got sicker because I couldn’t play. I was eager to play all the time, it was very painful. I would get one note and I would take it step-by-step, it took me about two years to play again. Many South African jazz lovers, and my brothers and sisters in the music, prayed for me and supported me during this time. It is important for me to take my healing, my healer, to them – because, for me, music has always been a healing force. I hope these records and this tour allow people the freedom to be honest – because music is bigger than us – to be honest, humane, about our experiences and hopefully take the positive from mine,” he says.
Feya Faku on Tour will stop in East London, Johannesburg and Cape Town, ending on March 26 at The Headroom Studio in Durban. The tour features artists at the forefront of defining the South African contemporary sound such as Bokani Dyer, Shane Cooper, Thandi Ntuli, and Keenan Ahrends amongst others.
“I am very happy to be working with these musicians. They play music for what it is, and they are very supportive and respectful to those who came before them. I’ve been watching them working together like brothers and sisters and doing their projects on the highest level. They are the future, and they are taking music to another level. I’m really honoured to be part of their journey,” says Faku.
The second to last performance will take place at the Centre for Jazz at UKZN. Tickets R120 (pensioners R90 and students R60). To book, visit
https://www.quicket.co.za/events/166779-feyafakuontour-ukzn-jazz-centre/?ref=events-list#/
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