Biography of Zim Ngqawana

Zim Ngqawana, is a South African flautist and saxophonist. He is the youngest of five children and started playing flute at the age of 21. He dropped out of school prior to meeting university entrance requirements but won entrance to a place at Rhodes University with his abilities. He later studied for a diploma in Jazz Studies at the University of Natal. He was offered scholarships to the Max Roach/Wynton Marsalis jazz workshop and later a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts. At the University of Massachusetts he studied with jazz legends Archie Shepp and Yusef Lateef. After his return to South Africa in the 1990s he worked with veteran South African jazz musicians Hugh Masekela and Abdullah Ibrahim. Zim features on Bjorn Ole Solburg and his Norwegian San Ensemble's album 'San Song'. He toured the United States with his band 'Ingoma' in 1995 and made an appearance at Black History Week in Chicago. Zim performs a duet with poet Lefifi Tladi in the documentary GIANT STEPS (2005), directed by Geoff Mphakati and Aryan Kaganof.