Johnny Dyani
| Johnny Dyani | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Johnny Mbizo Dyani |
| Born | November 30, 1945 |
| Origin | East London, South Africa |
| Died | October 24, 1986 (aged 40) |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Bassist |
| Instruments | Double bass |
| Years active | c.1960-1986 |
| Labels | Ogun, SteepleChase |
| Associated acts | The Blue Notes, Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, David Murray, Leo Smith |
Johnny Mbizo Dyani (30 November 1945 – 24 October 1986) was a South African jazz double bassist and pianist, who played with such musicians as Don Cherry, Steve Lacy, David Murray, Finnish guitar player Jukka Syrenius and Leo Smith.
Dyani was born and grew up in Duncan Village, a township of the South African city of East London.
In the early 1960s, he was a member of South Africa's first integrated jazz band, The Blue Notes, with Mongezi Feza on trumpet, Dudu Pukwana on alto saxophone, Nikele Moyake on tenor saxophone, Chris McGregor on piano, and Louis Moholo on drums. In 1964, the band fled South Africa to seek musical and political freedom. Moholo explained, "We were rebels and we were trying to run away from this apartheid thing. We rebelled against the apartheid regime that whites and blacks couldn't play together. We stood up."
In 1966, Dyani toured Argentina with Steve Lacy's quartet. Lacy, Dyani and Moholo recorded The Forest and the Zoo.
In 1971 Dyani formed his own group Earthquake Power, and in 1972 co-founded Xaba with Mongezi Feza and Okay Temiz.
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