Kesivan Naidoo

Kesivan Dev Naidoo (born 25 June 1979) is a South African drummer, who plays predominately jazz, electronica and world music.

Musical Studies

1979 - 1995

Born in East London, Kesivan was the first child in a family of 2 children. His parents, Dev and Vinodrarie Naidoo, worked as a building constructor and bookkeeper respectively and sent Kesivan to St. Ann's Primary School at the age of 5. He later graduated from Hudson Park High School in 1996. Neither of his parents played any musical instruments.

Kesivan first got into drumming in 1990, at the age of 11. While waiting to be let into his aunt's house, he heard his aunt's boyfriend (Reese Timothy) playing drums over the music. What he heard excited him, and this convinced him to become a drummer. Three years later, in 1993, Kesivan played his onstage debut at the Hogsback Arts Festival in the Eastern Cape.

In 1994 Kesivan was approached by Alan Webster, who invited him to join his Quintet. Shortly after he began to play for Hudson Park Jazz Band, as well as the Hudson Concert Band which later did a tour of Germany, France and England. When he was 15 Kesivan took some lessons with world-class drumming and jazz musician Lulu Gontsana at the Grahamstown Arts Festival. These lessons would continue for two years.