Kesivan Naidoo's 'Love Letter to South African Jazz' at the freedom in sound tour

Kesivan Naidoo is a man of precision - whether in the kitchen or behind the drum kit, every note and every ingredient is carefully considered.

I recently caught up with him before he headed to South Africa, as he’s cooking dinner in his Basel home: salmon trout baked to perfection, accompanied by fancy potatoes and a beurre blanc sauce.

“I’m a nerd,” he laughs, explaining how he follows recipes with the same meticulous attention he applies to his music.

His love for cooking, much like his passion for jazz, is deeply rooted in discipline, craftsmanship, and an appreciation for the greats - Escoffier in the kitchen, the jazz masters in his music.

Naidoo, now based in Switzerland, usually makes the journey home to South Africa only once a year, but he’s looking to change that.

This year’s return is particularly special. Not only has he debuted a brand-new work at the Journey to Jazz festival in Prince Albert earlier this month, he has taken the Lights and the ‘Freedom in Sound’ tour across the country and has also started recording a new album. This marks the third album for his celebrated band.

The 2025 Lights’ set carries a particularly profound weight. As part of this tour performance, Naidoo unveiled an extraordinary piece that seamlessly fuses history with music.

The production even features Nelson Mandela’s original freedom speech, woven into the composition, a powerful tribute that essentially puts “Mandela on vocals” - a stirring reminder of how history and music can echo through one another.

There’s also a deeply personal composition built on a chord progression entrusted to him by the late Bheki Mseleku more than two decades ago.

“This is my love letter to South African jazz,” Naidoo says. “To its legends, its future, and its spirit. “Jazz is not just a music genre for South Africans, it’s a lifestyle.”

The Freedom in Sound tour highlights this, blending the legacy of South Africa’s jazz masters with fresh compositions that showcase the country’s evolving jazz identity to a local and international audience.

The set balances the old and the new and is an opportunity to look back while moving forward - a sentiment that resonates deeply in this 30th year of South African democracy.

Despite his status as a globally recognised musician, Naidoo remains something of an anomaly in the jazz world. “It’s not common for a drummer to be a bandleader,” he acknowledges.

But with his exacting approach - both to music and to life - he has carved out a space that is uniquely his own.

On this tour, Naidoo, a Standard Bank Young Artist winner (2009) is joined by two more winners of this prestigious accolade, Bokani Dyer and Darren English, who along with Charley Rose (France) Fabio Gouvêa (Brazil) and Joan Codina (Spain) comprise the Lights who have illuminated audiences during a week that has explored the extraordinary versatility, talent and cohesiveness of each of the band members.