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Kyle Shepherd is a leading South African pianist and film score composer, celebrated for his distinctive style that transcends genres.

Born in 1987 in Cape Town, Shepherd began

playing piano as a teenager, drawing inspiration from the jazz and South African music he

heard at Abdullah Ibrahim’s M7 music school where his mother, Michele Shepherd, was a

teacher and administrator. He has garnered numerous accolades, including the 2014

Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz and the 2019 UNISA Piano Competition winner.

Shepherd has performed in 36 countries, gracing prestigious venues such as The Sydney

Opera House , Carnegie Hall's Zenkel Theatre and Théâtre de Châtelet in Paris.

 

With a prolific output, Shepherd has released seven jazz albums and composed for various

film and television projects. His notable credits include popular Netflix series like Blood and

Water and Unseen, which collectively amassed over 60 million hours of viewership. His

score for Noem My Skollie earned him the 2018 South African Humanities and Social

Sciences Award, while his work on Barakat and Fiela se Kind received Best Score awards at

the Silwerskerm Film Festival. Recently, he collaborated on the acclaimed film Greytown Girl

with Oscar-winning director Darrell Roodt and has been involved in significant theater

productions, including the award-winning chamber opera Waiting for the Sibyl by William

Kentridge for which Kyle co-composed the score with Nhlanhla Mahlangu.

 

The trio's upcoming album, "A Dance More Sweetly Played," set to be released in

November 2024, marks Shepherd's eighth jazz album. This project promises to further

explore the themes and sounds that define Shepherd's artistic vision.

The combination of Kyle Shepherd's innovative compositions, Shane Cooper's virtuosic

double bass, and Jonno Sweetman's dynamic drumming creates a vibrant soundscape that

has captivated audiences around the globe. Their performances not only highlight their

technical prowess but also convey deep emotional narratives rooted in South African

Culture.

 

The Kyle Shepherd Trio continues to tour internationally and remain a significant force in the

music world, embodying the rich heritage and contemporary evolution of South African jazz.

For more information about their music and upcoming projects, visit Kyle Shepherd Music.

 

Notable Performances:

 

Apart from South Africa, Shepherd has performed in Japan, USA, Germany, The

Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, France, Denmark, India, Malaysia,

China, Swaziland, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe, with notable concert

appearances, either as a solo pianist or trio, quartet and

other formats at Carnegie Hall (USA), Klavierhaus (USA), 2016 SWR NEWJazz Meeting

(Germany) at Alte Feuerwache (Mannheim), Sudhaus (Tübingen), Tollhaus (Karlsruhe), The

Bird’s Eye Jazz Club (Switzerland), La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland), Jazzwerkstatt

Festival Bern (Switzerland), Reformierte Dorfkirche Kleinhüningen (Switzerland), Klubschule

St. Gallen (Switzerland), BeFlat Jazz Club (Germany), Der Sendesaal, (Germany),

Hallenbad Kultur Am Schactweg, (Germany), The Tokyo Jazz Festival (Japan), Garaman

Hall (Japan), Body & Soul Jazz Club (Japan), Shikiori (Japan), Kaho Gekijo Kabuki Theatre

(Japan), Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord and L’Onde Théâtre et Centre d’art as part of the

Festival d’Automne à Paris (France), The Aarhus Jazz Festival (Denmark), The Cape Town

International Jazz Festival (South Africa), The Joy of Jazz Festival (South Africa), The

National Arts Festival, Grahamstown (South Africa), The Gaborone International Music and

Culture Week Festival (Botswana), The Orbit Jazz Club (South Africa), The Wits Great Hall

(South Africa), CCFM – The Centro Cultural Franco-Moçambicano (Mozambique), The

Mahikeng Jazz Festival (South Africa), Harare International Festival – HIFA (Zimbabwe),The

Tianjin International Jazz Festival (China), No Black Tie (Malaysia), MICA (India), B-Flat

(India), The Gonsalves Mansion ‘Home of Jazz’ (India) and Canada’s Ottawa International

Jazz Festival, Victoria International Jazz Festival, Vancouver International Jazz Festival &

Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.