JAZZ

NOTES:

Jen

Shyu,

Dizzy’s,

Goodman

Gallery

Some years ago, while visiting Johannesburg, South Africa, a friend in the arts introduced me to fellow jazz enthusiast Sam Nhlengethwa, one of the country’s most prominent artists. He invited me to his home, where we enjoyed an exceptional lunch over an invigorating conversation about jazz and, of course, art. My joy was viewing his personal art collection up close — mostly jazz pieces hanging prominently throughout the house, a large piece of Miles Davis hung in the dining room. (Ssshhh! Sam doesn’t know, but I did touch a few pieces just to feel the texture.) After lunch we discussed more music while listening to a few Miles and Herbie Hancock albums — vinyl, not CDs — from his extensive record collection.

His international reputation comes from his exemplified abstraction canvas acrylic works; many of his jazz pieces are acrylic and collage on canvas. He is part of a pioneering generation of South African artists whose work reflects the sociopolitical history and everyday life of his country.

Sam returned to New York City earlier this year 2026 for his second solo exhibit since 2011. This one that ended in March and was held at Manhattan’s Goodman Gallery (for more info, visit goodman-gallery.com/artists/sam-nhlengethwa). The exhibition was entitled “All Blues” and focused on a series of 10 square works measuring 55 x 55 cm. Sam’s 55th birthday and the historic 50th anniversary of Miles’s groundbreaking album “Kind of Blue” both occurred in 2010.