Linda Sikhakhane is a musician and composer born in Umlazi, a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he achieved his Diploma in Jazz & Popular Music. His journey with the saxophone began when he joined Siyakhula Music Centre, and he has never looked back.

His art form is captivating. A moving melody of notes that is imbued with his heritage and determination to compel his saxophone to speak in his mother tongue.

Through dedication to his craft, Linda emerged as a winner at the SAMBRO Overseas Scholarship competition, where he was competing against well-established names in the Jazz field. Being an academic and wanting to learn more and refine his craft he used his prize money to fund a Degree programme at The New School, taking his saxophone skill to the next level.

Having pursued a musical journey from Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal to New York City and back again, Linda Sikhakane’s compositions and performances reflect a global jazz outlook that is firmly rooted in the local. His early mentors included Brian Thusi and Nduduzo Makhathini in South Africa and Billy Harper, Reggie Workman, David Schnitter and Charles Tolliver in the United States.

Sikhakhane completed his undergraduate degree at the New School in New York after winning the SAMRO Overseas Scholarship. He is currently enrolled for a Master’s degree at the Norwegian Academy of Music. But this saxophonist extraordinaire’s creative output has not been limited to his studies – he cut his teeth through long hours in the recording studio and on stage, working with a host of musical artists ranging from the late Sibongile Khumalo to Thandiswa Mazwai and from Feya Faku to Marcus Wyatt.  

On his debut album Two Sides, One Mirror (2017), Sikhakhane brought together a band of fellow musical mavericks from the improvised jazz scene to produce songs of deep spiritual yearning – a mood and style that continued into his second album, An Open Dialogue (2020), which was recorded live in New York in the same year that Apple Music named him Artist of the Month for November. An Open Dialogue was also nominated for Best Jazz Album at the South African Music Awards.

Sikhakhane’s third album, Isambulo, was released earlier this year. It has been described as “a fluid and deep exploration of jazz, seamlessly blended with tradition” – and, indeed, he is committed both to exploring and extending South Africa’s amazing jazz heritage. As he reminds us, this is best achieved through collaboration:

History through sound is better expressed by a community than an individual, and Standard Bank has always been a pillar for our community of creatives.