Jazz artist Dawjee Trio to Perform Some Lines & Other Notes to hold forte at Lit.Culture, Brixton this Friday
By CityLife Arts Writer
If you are in on watching a musician with a rich heritage, includes a fusion of jazz and some sound from his rich cultural background, then you need to consider attending none other than the upcoming gig at Breeze Block in Brixton. This cool place is fast distinguishing itself as a live music venue of choice for especially quality entertainment staved Joburgers in the context of the sustainably unreliable live music venues that struggled to survive the depressed economic condition of the past few years.
Then comes Breeze Block in Brixton, an event venue that has an eatery and a book shop especially known for selling rare-to find books.
Dawjee Trio to Perform Some Lines & Other Notes @ Lit.Culture, Brixton
On 6 March 2026 at 18:30, Lit.Culture and Breezeblock Cafe present the Dawjee Trio in Some Lines & Other Notes, a live performance at 29 Chiswick Street, Brixton. Led by saxophonist Muhammad Dawjee, the trio features Nhlanhla Radebe on upright bass and Simphiwe Shiburi on drums, bringing an evening of focused interplay, deep listening and uncompromising improvisation to the room..
Dawjee is a notable presence in South Africa’s contemporary jazz scene, performing with ensembles including The Brother Moves On, Kinsmen and iPhupho L’ka Biko, and collaborating with musicians such as Herbie Tsoaeli and Tumi Mogorosi. While his work spans ensemble contexts, the trio format places his playing in a more exposed setting, where improvisation and interaction take centre stage.
In conversation with Maison Originals, Dawjee has described how his early exposure to Islamic melodic recitation in his grandfather’s home shaped his understanding of sound as inheritance and continuity. That sensibility continues to inform his approach, in which music functions as dialogue across histories rather than as isolated output.
These ideas are evident in his project Otherness, where he explored the rhythmic language of Ghoema alongside jazz traditions. Rather than treating Ghoema in a purist sense, Dawjee engaged it as a mediated lineage shaped by apartheid-era displacement. In his compositions, its 16th-note rhythmic structures intersect with swing’s triplet feel, creating movement between distinct rhythmic grids and subtle shifts in momentum.
In the trio setting, this rhythmic exploration remains central. Radebe’s bass work provides harmonic grounding, while Shiburi’s drumming bridges straight and swung subdivisions with precision. The ensemble functions as a collaborative unit, with each musician shaping the direction of the performance through attentive listening and response.
The programme will draw from South African jazz traditions and Dawjee’s original compositions, unfolding through improvisation, motif development and space. Presented in the intimate setting of Lit.Culture, Some Lines & Other Notes positions the audience as active listeners within the trio’s exchange, where sound, silence and interaction define the evening.