Lionel Pillay

South African Jazz Musician

South African pianist. Died in 2003 under obscure circumstances and forgotten by the public, Lionel Pillay was a musical genius. He is perhaps the most deleted, the most criminally neglected jazz artist of the apartheid era, removed from public view through vicious regulations. He had an exemplary technique and a fine feel for swing, combined with a comprehensive understanding of harmony and style. He worked as session musician at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Born and bred in South Africa, he was in fact of Indian descent, and his real name was Lionel Pillay. Lionel Martin was a stage name that he had been forced to adopt in order to conform to the political agenda at the SABC, where a non-white face could not be shown playing what non-white men were officially deemed incapable of.