* En anglais uniquement
Johnny "Mbizo" Dyani was from a musical family and began playing the piano and singing in a traditional choir at an early age. At 13, he switched to bass, but would use both voice and piano later on.
Chris McGregor hired him for
the Blue Notes after hearing him play with pianist Tete Mbambiza; the group left the country in 1964, playing first at the Antibes Jazz Festival, then in Zurich, London, and Copenhagen. In 1966,
Dyani toured Argentina with
Steve Lacy's quartet, recording
The Forest and the Zoo (ESP). In 1970, he played in
Don Cherry's trio with
Okay Temiz, and sat in with
McCoy Tyner in New York. He worked with
Abdullah Ibrahim and
Alan Shorter (Tes Esat, 1970), and formed his own Earthquake Power in 1971. The following year,
Dyani co-founded Xaba with
Mongezi Feza and
Temiz. He became very active on the European scene, playing with
Irene Schweizer,
Han Bennink, and with visiting American free jazz musicians such as
David Murray,
Leo Smith,
Joseph Jarman, and
Don Moye. His Witchdoctor's Son band made records with
Dudu Pukwana and
John Tchicai for Steeplechase, and with Swedish and Brazilian musicians for Cadillac (Witchdoctor's Son Together, 1980). His quartet featured guests
Don Cherry (
Song for Biko, Steeplechase),
Pukwana (Mbizo, Steeplechase 1981), and
Butch Morris (Grandmother's Teaching, Jam). He recorded in duo with drummer
Clifford Jarvis (African Bass, Red 1979), and his septet/octet recorded two albums with
Charles Davis (
Afrika and Born Under the Heat, both released in 1983). Detail was his '80s trio with
John Stevens and saxophonist
Frode Gjerstad, and Detail Plus featured Bobby Bradford on cornet. His 1985 album
Angolian Cry (Steeplechase) was of a quartet with trumpeter
Harry Beckett and
Tchicai. A year later,
Johnny Dyani died suddenly after a performance in Berlin. ~ Francesco Martinelli