Allen Kwela was a kwela and jazz guitarist from South Africa. He was raised around Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 where he herded cattle and learned music after making a tin guitar. He began in kwela

Kwela

Kwela is a happy, often pennywhistle-based, street music from southern Africa with jazzy underpinnings and a distinctive, skiffle-like beat. It evolved from the marabi sound and brought South African music to international prominence in the 1950s....

 with Spokes Mashiyane

Spokes Mashiyane

Born Vlakfontein , Pretoria 20th January, 1933. Died Baragwanath Hospital, cirrhosis of liver 9th February, 1972. Johannes "Spokes" Mashiyane was regarded as one of the greatest pennywhistle artists who graced the South African kwela music scene from the 1950s to the 1970s....

, but later branched into jazz. His 1984 work The Broken Strings of Allen Kwela received award nominations for jazz. He has been said to have become a "revered figure" and "legendary" in South African jazz

South African jazz

South African jazz is the jazz music of South Africa, also often mistakenly called "African jazz".-History:As in the United States, South African jazz was strongly influenced by the music styles of the black population. That said influences from the US led to its formation...

. He died of asthma in 2003 and had a wife as well as four children.