Kaya 959 The Jazz Standard

Sibongile Nene on The Jazz Standard With Brenda Sisane

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Sibongile Nene is an Art practitioner with an academic background in Music, Drama and Film. She studied drama at Drama Studio London and Ethnomusicology at The College of Music (Zimbabwe). Her debut CD ‘Sangoma’ earned a ‘Best Producer Award’ (Music frica, Toronto, Canada). The album is a rendition of traditional diviner songs which were sung during Nene’s initiation ceremonies to become an iSangoma (Healer/ Diviner). She created the screenplay and documentary project titled Insila kaShaka (or Insila: King Shaka's Shadow), an adaptation/interpretation of Insila kaShaka - a historic 1930 isiZulu novel written by John Langalibalele Dube, telling the story of Jeqe, the loyal body-servant (insila) of King Shaka.

Sankofa being the recurring theme in her music, writing and cultural work, Sibongile Nene sits down with Brenda Sisane to chat about her new book Umlungu kaShaka - set for release on December 15th 2026. Across her work in music, theatre, and writing Sibongile often reverts to the past to make sense of, question and reiterate the tales of the past whose lessons continue to echo in the present.
18 Oct English South Africa Music History · Music Commentary

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