Bassist Thuto Motsemme was introduced to music when he was 13 years old, participating in choirs as a baritone singer.  He was born in KwaMashu, North of Durban and considers himself a simple guy who is obsessed with making music, especially Jazz, and a student of life.  His paternal grandfather was a baritone opera singer and recipient of an international scholarship to study music.

“Growing up in KwaMashu was adventurous, dynamic, fun, but also dangerous at times due to crime”, he told Jazz It Out.  His late friend Mondli Mtshali introduced him to a choir that was led by Vusi Zulu.  This exposed him to a lot of travelling with fellow choristers while he was still at school.  He enjoyed the music of TKZee, DJ Fresh, Biggie and was also into Kwaito and Deep House.

Thuto Motsemme. Picture by TS Media

When he told his parents about his plans to study towards a music qualification, his mother was very concerned as to how he was going to make a living.  His father gave the nod despite having doubts about what the future had in store.  Thuto enrolled at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), making friends with Lee Ngidi, Nduduzo Makhathini and Fundile Mdingi.

Before enrolling at the institution, his was not familiar with Jazz as a genre.  “It was very difficult to adapt to this new world of Jazz”, he said.  He witnessed most of the music students dropping out of the curriculum and was tempted to do the same on numerous occasions.  He found the course very intense and extremely demanding. “We didn’t think that studying music could be so challenging”, he added.

His debut album titled “My Dream”

He credits his former supervisor and personal bass teacher, Phiwe Solomon, for who he is today.  “Without him there would not have been the Thuto people know today”, he confessed.  He describes an incident where he witnessed Solomon playing a blues walking bass line as a life changing experience.  “He planted the Jazz seed  and was very patient with me as a beginner when many doubted my ability”, he added.

While studying at UKZN, he performed at venues including The Bat Centre, the now defunct Jazzy Rainbow, and at Awesome Africa Festival.  As a professional musician and graduate, he has worked with a lot of accomplished musicians including Feya Faku, Andile Yenana, Afrika Mkhize, Steve Dyer, Bheki Khoza, Nduduzo Makhathini, Ayanda Sikade, Gloria Bosman, Sazi Dlamini, Salim Washington, Mfana Mlambo and Melanie Scholtz.  Working with these musicians has contributed to his flexibility and versality as a bass player.

Miss Rah – Thuto Motsemme

Through all these years of working with different musicians, he has developed his own unique and distinctive sound which draws its influence from a variety of music genres including church hymns, African folk music, avant-garde, and Jazz.  His compositions are fresh, bubbly and full of energy.  Thuto’s debut album titled “My Dream” was released in 2016.  It earned him recognition as a composer and musician.

In order for Jazz to reach a wider audience, he believes it needs to be more accessible via all media platforms and there should be Jazz programmes in all schools.  He sees himself performing across the globe as a bassist.  His favourite musicians are Zoë Modiga, Nono Nkoane, Mbuso Khoza, Ambrose Akinmusire, Soweto Kinch and Eric Revis.  His Facebook Page is Thuto Motsemme.  Follow him on Instagram @thutomotsemme and @ThutoMotsemme on Twitter.