Steve Dyer- Electronic Press Kit
“Steve Dyer… is a visionary, a pioneer and a symbol of a new Africa.”
- Vasco Zama Ndebele, Cue magazine
photo ©Joanne Olivier
Steve Dyer believes that no single culture owns the monopoly on human wisdom. Every human life born into whatever culture, ethnicity or spiritual belief system has the same value.
Steve was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in 1960. His parents listened consistently to music of the Western classical masters. He also remembers maskandi musicians walking the streets as they played their guitars, and the Soul Brothers and “kwela” playing on the radio. He began composing music at the age of 10. An all-rounded conceptual artist, he is a significant figure in South African music scene, contributing to its growth, both domestically and abroad.
He completed a B Mus degree in performance at the University of Natal in 1981, majoring in saxophone and flute. Refusing military conscription into the SADF Steve left South Africa and lived in Botswana for 5 years. Here he came into contact with the exile sounds blowing through the horns of Hugh Masekela and Jonas Gwangwa. He helped form “Shakawe” led by Jonas Gwangwa and played in the band for 3 years. In 1988 after a stint in the U.K. he settled in Zimbabwe where after releasing his debut album Southern Freeway (1989) he formed a group with that same name. “Indlela yenkululeko” was released in 1992. In 1990 he joined the Amandla cultural ensemble of the ANC on a 7 week tour of Japan.
With democracy on the horizon in 1993 Steve returned to South Africa. Steve has released 10 albums under his name, including the critically acclaimed “Genesis of a Different World” released in 2019, and the award-winning “Enhlizweni - song stories from my heartland” (Ropeadope / AfricArise 2024). He conceptualised the Southern African music “supergroup” Mahube that has been an ongoing touring collaboration since 1997. Steve has also composed “Rebirth” - a concerto for soprano saxophone, string quartets, music for saxophone and marimbas and more. Steve also has extensive producing experience including 6 albums for Oliver Mtukudzi (1998-2002) including the seminal Tuku music, as well as directing large and small scale concerts on the African continent and abroad. He continues to work on unique projects that reflect the current times, trace historical elements and tradition within the modernity. His most recent project “Visions of Ubuntu” - Lincoln Center at Damrosh Park, New York in June 2024 - featured an 8-piece band, guest vocalist Motswedi Modiba, and a 50-strong Young People’s Chorus of New York City.
Projects:
Freedom Melody:
New project, to be premiered in autumn 2025 at the Atrium, Lincoln Center: 6-piece band, freaturing 6 vocalists. Touring project may include a quartet plus vocal ensemble sourced locally. A residency format (2-3 days) works well in this case and would engage local partners to present the brand new composition. Touring Oct - Nov 2025 and June 2026.
Enhlizweni - song stories from my heartland:
Winner of Best Jazz Album at SAMA Awards 2024, released in the year of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the first democratic elections in South Africa, Steve Dyer’s album Enhlizweni is a creative offering of how South Africa - a place where multiple musical energies co-exist - has shaped, and continues to shape Steve’s personal, and South African collective stories. “Almost all of us feel ties to the lands of our birth, and I’m no different. I was born in South Africa, a place where multiple musical energies exist in spiritual spaces, community get togethers, rituals, protests as well as dedicated performances. (…) Music in this country is most often a communal edeavour. I hope “ENHLIZWENI” can in some way contribute, in the words of freedom fighter Steve Biko, to ‘the great gift (that) still has to come from Africa – giving the world a more human face.” - Steve Dyer, liner notes
Visions of Ubuntu:
An evening of remembrance and jubilant celebration of the indomitable human spirit. Propelled by the courage of South Africa's indigenous youth, June of 1976 marked a pivotal point in the national uprising against apartheid. Student revolutionaries protesting against Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in the classroom were met with deadly force by soldiers of the apartheid regime. Intergenerational leaders of the South African freedom struggle (including Mandela, Sobukwe, Tambo, and Biko) visualized a country where all people could live in harmony, drawing strength and inspiration from the traditional value system of ubuntu, embodying collectivism, harmony, and restorative justice. Nearly 50 years since the June 16 uprising and after 30 years of South African democracy, join us in recognizing ubuntu as a “life-philosophy concept" with the capacity to heal our troubled world.
music samples:
TRACKS FROM THE ALBUM ENHLIZWENI:
Notable US Performances
June 14, 2024
Summer for the City Lincoln Center, Damrosh Park, New York, NY
VISIONS OF UBUNTU - 8-piece band featuring Motswedi Modiba and Young People’s Chorus of New York City
June 8 2024
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, San Francisco, CA
DYERTRIBE - quintet performance co-led by Steve Dyer & Bokani Dyer, festival event featured a conversation - demonstration at the Museum of the African Diaspora, moderated by John Santos. PRESS
January 12 2024
Unity Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, NY
DYERTRIBE performance opened the inaugural Unity festival
SA Performances
September 28 2025
Joy of Jazz Festival, Johannesburg, SA
Visions of Ubuntu feat. Amazwi8 Choir
photos ©Joanne Olivier
Contact Information:
Marty Khan:
outwardvisions@gmail.com
Sabina Simpson:
sabina@moconnections.uk / +15105020544