Ray Phiri, South African jazz musician, Died at 70

  Music

Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri was born on March 23, 1947, in Mpumalanga and died on July 12, 2017.

He was a South African jazz, fusion and mbaqanga musician.

He came from Malawian immigrant worker and South African guitarist nicknamed “Just Now” Phiri.

Phiri became founding member of the Cannibals in the 1970s.

After the Cannibals disbanded Ray founded Stimela, with whom he conceived gold and platinum-selling albums like Fire, Passion and Ecstacy (1991), Look, Listen and Decide (1992) as well as the controversial People Don’t Talk So Let’s Talk.

He has been involved in a series of car accidents which have had an impact on his personal life and musical career.

He was badly injured in 1987 in a crash that claimed the lives of his band manager and six others.

Ray Phiri passed away at 70 years old.