Feya Faku would have been performing on the bird's eye stage the entire week. He had been associated with the Jazz Club since 2004, when he first performed here with the Bheki Mseleku Quintet. He was subsequently Artist in Residence in spring 2006 and performed repeatedly in Switzerland and South Africa with the Swiss South African Jazz Quintet and the Feya Faku Quintet. We have lost not only an excellent musician but also long-time friend.

Feya Faku is one of the most influential voices on the South African jazz scene, even after his death. Born in the township of New Brighton near Gqeberha/Port Elizabeth, he first received his training on stage with the jazz greats of the Eastern Cape - Ezra Ngcukana, George Tyefumani, Winston Mankunku to name just a few, followed by formal training in Durban, and was soon performing with all the greats of the day. He first appeared in Basel with Abdullah Ibrahim and Sathima Bea Benjamin in 1995 as part of the Musik der Welt festival in Basel. On 2 April 2004 he took to the stage of the bird's eye jazz club for the first time with the Bheki Mseleku Quintet and, in 2006, he returned as Artist in Residence supported by the Swiss arts council Pro Helvetia, performing with students of the Basel Jazz School and with the Swiss South African Jazz Quintet (Andy Scherrer, Colin Vallon, Stephan Kurmann, Makaya Ntshoko, and guest Siya Makuzeni). In 2007, the band toured South Africa, now with Domenic Landolf on tenor. It was the beginning of an extremely cordial, both respectful and loving collaboration and friendship with musicians in Switzerland. The result was five albums, all of which were recorded here in Basel. First the album Hope and Honour (2008, Domenic Landolf, Colin Vallon, Fabian Gisler and Norbert Pfammatter), then Le Ngoma (2013 Domenic Landolf, Jean-Paul Brodbeck, Fabian Gisler and Dominic Egli) - a tribute to the greats of South African jazz who had shaped Faku.

After a series of blows and in poor health, Feya Faku spent a good three months in Basel in 2021 recovering from bells palsy to the extent that he was able to record the trio CD Impilo with David Virelles and Fabian Gisler at the bird's eye jazz club on his 60th birthday, expressing his gratitude for his regained health with this album. This was accompanied by the live recording Feya Faku Sextet live at the bird's eye (with Keenan Ahrends, Domenic Landolf, Jean-Paul Brodbeck, Fabian Gisler and Dominic Egli). This guest appearance and the two albums laid the foundation for his comeback. In January 2024, he recorded his last album Inkumbulo (Domenic Landolf, Bokani Dyer, Fabian Gisler, Sphelelo Mazibuko) in Basel, with which he not only celebrated his personal 20-year journey together with his fellow musicians and friends in Switzerland, but also the entire exchange between the jazz scenes in South Africa and Switzerland, which originated from the bird's eye jazz club and the Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel and which continues to grow. An example in case is the band Plurism founded by drummer Dominic Egli, of which Feya Faku was an integral part.

Feya Faku will continue to influence generations of musicians with his compositions, which he published in 2019 in Le Ngoma - the Feya Faku Songbook. We are grateful for his music and friendship and glad that we were able to accompany him on his journey, which has now ended far too soon but at a time and place characterized by great harmony and happiness.

The sad news of the legendary musician, who is revered nationally, has hit like a bombshell in South Africa - barely a week after the death of drummer Louis Moholo was announced.

The concerts

The band will pay tribute to the deceased by performing the concerts at the the bird's eye jazz club as planned. Feya Faku's voice cannot be replaced. He will be present in music and spirit.